Mixed feelings and lots of questions about OOP

[kupukello]

No: HPFGUIDX 66087

It is mentioned in OOP several times that Snape puts THREE memories 
in the pensieve before starting the Occlumency sessions with Harry. 
When Harry looks in the pensieve he sees just the one with Remus and 
James tormenting Snape before Snape stops him. What are the other 
two memories? The second memory could be that time when Sirius 
tricks Snape into to the tunnel leading to Shrieking Shack and James 
saves him from Remus (that's propably something Snape does not want 
Harry to see) but what is the third memory? 

What annoys me the most is that instead of revealing at least 
something about the history JKR leaves us with even more unanswered 
questions. We still know absolutely nothing about Harry's 
grandparents, the Potter fortune, heck, we don't even know which 
houses the Marauders and Lily belong! Before book 5 the Dursleys 
were just a unpleasant muggle family which despises anything magic. 
After book 5 I have a strong feeling that this really isn't the 
whole truth. Aunt Petunia remembers such difficult words 
like "Azkaban" ja "Dementor" and even knows what Dementors do. She 
also seems to recognize a howler. Snape calls Lily in his memory "a 
filthy little Mudblood" and Lily does not object. Does this mean 
that Lily's and Petunia's parents where BOTH muggles or is just one 
muggle parent enough for the child to be called Mudblood? Would Lily 
be called a "Halfblood" if just one of her parents was muggle? In 
book 1 Petunia says that her parents where really proud about Lily 
being a witch. If they (both) were muggles why would they be proud? 
Hermiones parents seem to be well educated, broad minded and caring 
so I have no problem believing that they are proud of their daughter 
even when they are muggles. Knowing what kind of a person Aunt 
Petunia is it is hard to believe that her parents would be as broad 
minded as Hermione's if they both were muggles.

Also the new characters left me wondering their purpose in the first 
place. Tonks is hilarious but otherwise utterly useless. Umbridge 
makes a nice villain but we still don't know why she did what she 
did. Why did she send the Dementors after Harry? Why did she try to 
get Harry expelled? Why did she do any of the things she did and why 
could she leave like that without being at least arrested? Is she a 
Death Eater? Did she just try to please Fudge? And is Fudge's only 
reason for his actions (and the change of mind at the end of the 
book) just the fact that he thinks that Dumbledore is after his 
position?

It bothers me that Harry is so thoroughly shattered because of 
Sirius death (Yes, he died. I checked. Everybody else says something 
like "He is gone" or "He can't come back" but Dumbledore actually 
uses the word "dead": page 727 UK version: "It is my fault that 
Sirius died"). Harry finds about Sirius and him being Harry's 
godfather first in book 3. After that he receives just a few letters 
from Sirius, spends a couple a weeks with him and that's all. In my 
opinion Remus is far more closer to Harry than Sirius ever was. Even 
Arthur Weasley is more a father figure to Harry than Sirius. Of 
course is obvious that Harry cannot stand loosing anyone he 
considers to be "his family" but still. Sirius was anything but 
mature. Most of the time he was either running, moping or doing 
reckless things. A very charming character (did you notice that his 
handsomeness is mentioned all the time!) but hardly someone who 
would be good for Harry. Throughout the fifth book Sirius treats 
Harry as if he were James, and Harry is nothing like his father!

What I liked about OOP that most of the characters got more 3D. We 
finally get a glimpse what kind of person Ginny is: not timid, not 
like her mother but very much like Fred and George and thus like 
Arthur. Harry stops being always nice and shows petty feelings like 
jealousy, bullying (I just love the way he torments Dudley!) and 
disrespect. He also has to lower (like all teenagers have to do at 
some point) at least his father from his selfmade pedestal, Lily's 
pedestal might be even higher after Harry saw Snapes memory. Even 
the perfect mother Molly Weasley shows signs of weakness in OOP and 
she even shows lack of judgement which so far has been unheard of. 
Hermione goofes things up with the centaurs what I recall being the 
first time ever Hermione fails at something. Ron's character does 
not developt at all in OOP but I still find it refreshing that Ron 
is not anymore just Harry's sidekick. Ron becomes prefect, he wins 
the Quidditch cup and is the Gryffindor hero just like Harry has 
been the last four years. The Slytherin bunch on the other hand 
became even more shadowlike loosing even the little character they 
had gained through books 1-4. We don't learn anything new about 
Draco (who is after all the counter force for the Holy Trio in 
Hogwarts) besides his poetry skills, which by the way, are 
excellent :-) Dumbledore's character developes too but it really 
annoys me that I still don't know whether he is related to Harry 
and/or Godric Gryffindor. Now THAT would explain a lot!

I'm also very disappointed about the amount of, or the lack of, 
snogging in OOP. It appears to me that JKR is determined to gain 
some romantical experience for each of the main characters before 
letting them to find the Right One. Harry has already had his first 
awkward relationship and his first kiss, I bet Hermione and Viktor 
have shared something similar too. Ginny has been dating not one but 
two boys which leaves us with Ron. Luna obviously fancies Ron so my 
quess is that Luna will jump Ron and Ron will be over with his 
awkward first kiss there. Letting Ron and Hermione be together in 
book 5 would have meant that they would have been an old and boring 
couple by the end of book seven. I quess that something will happen 
about their relationship already in book 6. Harry will just begin to 
realize his interest in Ginny and the hunt after Ginny (yes, that's 
only fair since Ginny fancied Harry at least four years, let the 
tables turn!) will begin seriously first in book 7. I wonder what 
JKR has planned for Draco (I keep my fingers crossed, a nice "who 
gets the girl" between Harry and Draco would be great :-)

Yours, Kupukello.