Slytherins come back WAS: Re: My Most Annoying Character/Now Rowling's control

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 180375

> >>Betsy Hp:
> > Yeah.  I also remember the very clear cut, unambiguous reveals.  
> > Where is the big reveal showing us that the folks Harry thought   
> > were adults were actually fellow students as well? <snip>

> >>Carol responds:
> I agree that there's no clear-cut, unambiguous reveal, but we're   
> never told exactly what happened in many other instances, either.

Betsy Hp:
But that's my point.  If Slytherin returning to join the fray isn't a 
big deal (which the lack of an unambiguous reveal tells me it's not) 
than there was no reason for JKR to be coy.  IOWs, if there's not a 
solution, there never was a mystery in the first place.

> >>Carol:
> The closest we get here is "Slytherin played its part" in the battle
> itself, which can't refer solely to Snape... <snip>

Betsy Hp:
Sure it can.  Especially if Phineas's exclamation is meant to be seen 
(as I think it was) as the helpless braying of a fairly 
useless "ally".  I think it was meant to be more comedic than 
profound, with a side of pathetic.  (Slytherin in a nutshell per 
JKR's view, I think.)

> >>Carol:
> Both Phineas's remark and Harry's later attitude that it's okay for 
> his son to be sorted into Slytherin make sense only if Slytherin   
> students returned to the battle.

Betsy Hp:
But it doesn't make sense of the fact that JKR played coy with their 
return, if it indeed happened.  Again, why the mystery without a 
reveal?  It makes more sense for Phineas to be seen as a bit of an 
pushy ass and Harry to be seen as a kind father with no worries of 
his son ending up in Slytherin.  

If JKR wanted Slytherin back in the fight and on the right side, why 
didn't she just do it?

> >>Carol:
> The "big reveal" in DH focuses on Snape... <snip>

Betsy Hp:
Actually, one of my big dissappointments with DH was the side-lining 
of Snape.  His "revelation" was treated, I thought, like a footnote.  
Instead, the DH "big reveal" was Dumbldore's plan and that Dumbledore 
was a good guy.  (Yeah, I'm sure you see the flaw.)  In essentials, 
Harry was right about Snape.  The man had no inner core of goodness 
or principle.  He was just... easily manipulated and Dumbledore was 
better at it than Voldemort.  All Harry realized was that Snape was 
truly Dumbledore's creature.  It was a pretty pathetic "realization" 
to my mind. 

> >>Carol:
> We get "The Prince's Tale," to which we don't see Harry reacting   
> directly, other than identifying with the young Snape
> (and Tom Riddle!) as a fellow "lost boy" who felt at home at       
> Hogwarts, because he's caught up in Snape's message that he, Harry, 
> has to sacrifice himself (a message Snape could not have delivered 
> if he'd been AK'd for openly opposing Voldemort).
> <snip>

Betsy Hp:
Exactly.  The truth about Snape has no real affect on Harry.  Instead 
of DH being about their relationship (a relationship I *thought* had 
been shaping the series) is was about Harry's "relationship" with 
Dumbledore (a relationship that didn't seem to exist until after 
Dumbledore died).  Which is part of why the book read false to me 
(Harry's non-reaction to Snape's story was weird, as was his sudden 
obsession with Dumbledore).

But because Harry no longer cared much about Snape or Draco, it meant 
that he no longer cared about Slytherin.  So again, more fuel for 
the "no mystery here" fire.  Slytherin fighting or not fighting 
wasn't going to do anything to the Harry we see at the end of DH.  So 
why would JKR be coy about it?

I honestly think that this sidelining of all things Slytherin was a 
massive story-telling mistake on JKR's part.  She'd put too much into 
making them the big antagonist for Harry to suddenly say they didn't 
matter.  Which I think is made apparent by all these attempts to ret-
con them back into a place of importance.

But the fact is, Draco not joining the good guys side, and instead 
being a good little (though massively pathetic) Death Eater does 
nothing to help or hinder Harry.  Snape's death was just this side of 
meaningless, and the information dump of his life barely caused a 
blip in Harry's sense of himself and his views of the world.  
Slytherin, as a house, was so unimportant Harry didn't bother to 
figure out if they fought with him or against him.

Heh.  In some ways, I think the subject line best reflects my 
thoughts as I read DH:  "Slytherin!  Come back!" <bg>

Betsy Hp