JKR knows the fans and her characters

[Jim Ferer]

No: HPFGUIDX 133097

Lupinlore: "It seemed to me that large segments of HBP were written to
 please/placate/pacify certain sections of the fandom. I don't mean 
that as a criticism, by any means, since I think any author  ignores
their fans to their peril. Still, it was striking how  things worked out."

Siriusly Snapey Susan: "Just picking this one little bit of
Lupinlore's post to respond to. I also felt this, to some degree.
Chapter 2, especially, and a couple of other places in the book felt
to me like JKR crossing items off a list."

She certainly was. JKR is very in tune with what's in the fans' minds
and responds.  She's used her space to torpedo some theories, too. (We
have Amelia Bones's blood on our hands.)  I wish I had a Galleon for
every wrong theory I proposed, including my favorite ship and favorite
theory.

I believe that very little of what turned out could be found in tiny
clues in the text.  I've never thought that JKR was "tricky." What she
is is subtle. Patrick O'Brian is the only other author of the last
century who has given us characters as vivid as JKR's.

Everything she does makes sense in terms of human nature. We may not
know what's going to happen, but we know who the characters are; Harry
will be Harry, Ron will be Ron, and JKR will always know who they are.
Like every other human, they can surprise us.

Harry's sense of fellowship and his generosity: How many would give
his friends his last portions of Felix Felicis to protect them while
going into danger himself?

Dumbledore's trusting nature? Dumbledore is Dumbledore to the very
end, even when it costs him.  His courage? He always does what must be
done, no matter what.

Draco? We always should have known that the little b*****d was good
for something like this, even though we didn't know what it was going
to be.  We also had a pretty good idea he may not have the guts to go
through with it, which he didn't. Maybe his anxieties humanized him,
but that still doesn't make him a good human.

All of the characters are as flawed and vulnerable as we all are. 
Whatever mistakes they make, they'll get through.

Jim Ferer