The co-protagonists and minor characters in Book 7

[kiricat4001]

No: HPFGUIDX 143102

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "justcarol67" 
<justcarol67 at y...> wrote:

> So, what side plots (aside from Snape and RAB, which have been
> thoroughly discussed) really, really need to be resolved and what 
role
> will the sidekicks, subordinate heroes, and other minor characters
> (Luna, Neville, Dobby, Percy, Umbridge, Scrimgeour, 
Slughorn . . . . )
> play in resolving them? (Well, okay, we can include Snape here in
> relation to future actions as opposed to past motivations and 
events.)
> 
> Carol, hoping we've at least seen the last of S.P.E.W.

Marianne:

Just returned from vacation and I'm madly trying to catch up!

I think one thing no one has mentioned in response to Carol
(apologies if I've missed it) is Grawp and the giants.  JKR said in 
one of her relatively recent interviews (the TLC/Mugglenet one?) 
that she didn't think there was anything she could have cut from 
OoP.  In that book we had the whole minute-by-minute story of 
Hagrid's journey to the giants to try to get them on DD's side.  The 
only payoff in HBP was to learn that the giants were responsible for 
some of the catastrophes that are plaguing the British PM.  It seems 
like a lot of backstory to include in one book, if all we are to 
learn as a result is that the giants are supporting Voldemort by 
crashing around doing damage.

Also, a lot of page time was given to Grawp in OoP, and all we 
learned in HBP is that he's calmer and maturing nicely, according to 
Hagrid. Again, a lot of backstory was provided for only a brief 
mention in HBP. 

Personally, I found the whole trek to the giants and the Grawp story 
to be a tedious side trip.  However, if JKR believes that these 
minor story arcs could not have been cut or edited in OoP, then it 
strikes me that there should be some additional role that is yet to 
be played out.  

Marianne, not looking forward to giant stuff