Snape & the Order; Snape & Lily; predictions...

[Rosmerta]

No: HPFGUIDX 132983

I'm blown away, folks! What a shock.  What a bunch of shocks.  JKR 
never fails to amaze me.

I think it's clear that Snape is still on the side of good, however 
it may look to Harry. Even when Dumbledore first asks for Severus on 
returning from the cave, I think it's so Snape can end his agony - 
not to brew him some healing potion.  IMO there would be no antidote 
to whatever was in that basin.  Snape's reluctance over agreeing to 
kill Dumbledore (if it came to that) was the reason for the argument 
Hagrid overheard, and the reason for his look of "revulsion and 
hatred" as he approached his task.

But if all that's true - can Snape still pass on information to the 
OOP?  They all believe him guilty of treachery now, and he must know 
they do since he knows Harry will spread the tale.  Will he be able 
to get in touch with some one person - McGonagall perhaps? - and 
explain that he was actually carrying out Dumbledore's orders?  
Would anyone believe him?  

What will Snape do to protect Draco?  How will they manage away from 
Hogwarts - go ive at Malfoy Mansion?  I'm sure Narcissa would gladly 
take Snape in, since he protected her son.

With Slughorn stressing over and over again what a Potions genius 
Lily was, methinks many of those hints in Harry's book were 
originally from her.  Want to bet Lily and Severus were Potions 
partners?  Another argument for the Snape-loved-Lily theory - he 
would respect her ability in a field he loved.  Also, Dumbledore 
hesitates in HBP (p. 549 U.S. edition) when Harry yet again 
questions Snape's loyalty, as though he wants to tell Harry 
something definitive - but then he simply says "I trust him."  
Unless what he wanted to tell Harry involved Harry personally 
somehow, I can't see why Dumbledore wouldn't give him the proof that 
seems to be so lacking.

I'm glad Harry plans to visit his parents' graves.  I've thought for 
a while now - I'll go on record with it here - that "Florence" is 
part of Lily's name, and Harry will find that out sooner or later, 
perhaps by looking at her tombstone.  My theory is that Lily 
("Florence" to those not intimate with her?) was the one Snape was 
kissing long ago behind the greenhouses in book 4.  (Many reasons: 
the lily is the symbol of the city Florence and we know JKR likes 
her name games; Snape's jealousy over Lily would add tremendously to 
his hatred of James and then Harry; in the scene from Snape's 
Pensieve memory, James keeps calling Lily "Evans!" even though he 
wants her to date him - it seems odd he would refer to her this way, 
unless JKR is trying to conceal her true first name?) - OK, I may be 
crazy, but it's my theory and I'm sticking to it.  You heard it here 
first!  ;)

LOVED: 
- the last 100 pages - just mind-blowing.  The last sentence of the 
book was extremely touching.
- all the Albus-Harry teamwork
- all the humor (Mollywobbles! U-No-Poo! hee)
- Fleur standing by her man
- Harry's quick wit and the way he's maturing (CapsLock!Harry is no 
more, thank heaven)
- Harry befriending Luna
- Harry's scar isn't hurting
- No more Care of Magical Creatures scenes
- The way JKR deals with the prophecy (p.509-512, U.S. edition)
- Shout-out to Rupert Grint(?) - p. 485, U.S. ed.)
- Remus/Tonks - so nice to see SOMETHING go right in Lupin's life 
for once!  Now don't kill either of them off, Jo, are you listening??
- Draco not being a killer; looks like there's a chance for him.  I 
loved how Dumbledore "talked him down"
- the idea of the Horcruxes - very clever
- I guessed right about who the HBP was - go me! :D

DIDN'T LOVE:
- Not enough classroom scenes (especially DADA - how *does* Snape 
think Dementors should be fought?)
- Not enough Neville (I wanted to see if he'd do better with a wand 
of his own), Dennis Creevey (I fell in love with him when he was 
Sorted in book 4!), Lupin, and a few others
- Harry's attraction to Ginny seemed awfully sudden
- No Halloween!
- Dumbledore was a bit cranky in this one; it seemed OOC
- Harry seems to forget all about Sirius after the beginning of the 
book
- Several things still need some more depth or resolution: Krum and 
Hermione (did she ever go to Bulgaria? will he accept Dumbledore's 
invitation to return to Hogwarts?), Kreacher and Sirius (I swear he 
was dosing Sirius with those herbs Harry was studying in OOP to make 
Sirius more moody and reckless - you'll notice when Kreacher 
disappeared, Sirius was fine), the other Hogwarts professors (I want 
to know more about them and their lives).... 

QUESTIONS:
- Could a Dementor kiss a Horcrux and remove the bit of soul?
- Will Harry's Patronus change to a phoenix now that his last, 
greatest protector is gone?
- Would Voldemort try to make another Horcrux since he knows the 
diary was destroyed?  Harry could be facing five, not four.

PREDICTIONS:
- Kidnapped Ollivander will make Voldemort a new wand so he and 
Harry can duel properly
- Harry will perfect his silent spellcasting as Snape urged him 
(however snarkily)
- Harry will learn the full truth about Snape and come to see him as 
an ally (probably never a friend though)
- Madam Pince's Animaga form will prove to be Mrs. Norris
- Hogwarts will re-open and the Trio will return there at least for 
a while
- Neville and Luna will become an item
- Neville will finally get a cage for Trevor!

I keep thinking about how JKR said HBP is her favorite title - and I
think that's not necessarily because of how it sounds, but because
of what it means: that a major theme of Harry's struggle with
Voldemort is learning who he can trust to be on his side, and that
Snape is one person he really has to wrestle with - not to trust
appearances (now more than ever). There's much, much more to his
tortured relationship with the Half-blood Prince, and I can't wait
for book 7.  

But I'm very sad about Snape - he's one of my favorite characters 
and it seems clear from HBP that he has never known and will never 
know happiness.  I'm very sad about that.  From a poor home with an 
abusive father, to the lonely life of a geeky, intelligent outcast 
at school, to service with the Dark Lord, to the heartwrenching 
regret that sent him to Dumbledore, to teaching children he 
despises, to the difficult and dark life of a spy, to having to kill 
the man he reveres above all others, to a life on the run with the 
Death Eaters, to a probable end in book 7 - Snape hasn't deserved 
all this!  JKR talks about how much she's put Harry through, but 
what about Snape??

Sigh.  I just want to hold him and make it all better.  Yeah, he'd 
love that!  :D

- Rosmerta
freed from Imperius and in her right mind, what's left of it