OOP: Disappointing (also posted on HPfGU)

[Phyllis]

I've been away from a computer since OoP was released, and I'm afraid 
it's hopeless at this point to try to catch up on all of the message 
that have transpired since, so I beg your forgiveness if I repeat a 
point that someone has already made.

I almost hate to write this, since it's so negative, but here goes – 
I was very disappointed in OoP. I thought it lacked the momentum, 
the energy, the excitement, the tricks and the humor that made the 
first four books so terrific.

Here's what particularly bothered me:

1. Why are we exposed for the first time to wizards who can 
change their appearance, Vanishing Spells and Disillusionment Charms 
when Voldemort doesn't attempt to use any of the above to go after 
the prophecy? Granted, the Order was standing guard, but once the 
snake attacked Arthur Weasley, Voldemort could have easily 
Appararated into the Ministry disguised as an Unspeakable (or under 
an Invisibility Cloak, or disillusioned) and gone after the 
prophecy. And we keep hearing that Dumbledore is the only one 
Voldemort was ever afraid of (other than Harry, of course!), so it 
doesn't seem as if any member of the Order other than Dumbledore 
could have kept a disguised Voldy out of the prophecy room.

2. The Thestrals: When we first learn that the only people who 
can see thestrals are those that can see death, I immediately started 
to wonder why Harry can only see them after Cedric's death when he 
saw his Mum die as a baby. I kept hoping that an explanation would 
be provided, but when none came by the end of the book, I was very 
disappointed. IMO, this is a major flint. I think JKR confirmed 
that it is a flint by the way she answered the question at the Royal 
Albert Hall event. She was asked why Harry can see the thestrals 
only now when he saw his Mum die as a baby. I think JKR jumped to 
the conclusion that she was being asked why Harry can see the 
thestrals now when he couldn't see them at the end of GoF, because 
she answered the question by saying that the knowledge of Cedric's 
death needed to "sink in" before the thestrals gradually came into 
focus. She ended what appeared to be a rehearsed answer by 
saying "that's my story." If this is indeed a mistake, I would have 
much rather heard her own up to it than try to concoct a story that 
provides an inadequate explanation. I think the problem here is that 
this isn't easily fixed in future editions, like the wand order 
problem or the "ancestor" error. I just can't help but wonder why 
her editors don't pick up on stuff like this! I think if she was 
really planning on introducing the thestrals in book 5, she could 
have easily avoided the problem at the end of book 4 by having Harry 
transported back to Privet Drive by another means (after all he went 
through at the end of book 4, it would have been understandable that 
he wouldn't have wanted to ride the carriages or the train with the 
other students) – the Knight Bus, perhaps? But this still wouldn't 
have solved the problem of his not seeing them before given that he 
saw his Mum die as a baby. I can't accept that it's because he was a 
baby when it happened – he hears her screaming, sees green light and 
hears Voldemort's laughter when the dementors approach, so he 
obviously remembers her death (even if it's only in his subconscious).

3. Sirius' Death: Several things bothered me here. The first 
was the way he died – taunting his cousin. How arrogant is that? 
Couldn't he have died a more noble death – in the midst of a proper 
duel, perhaps? The second was that I didn't feel as if we had enough 
character development on Sirius to warrant Harry's feeling of grief. 
We weren't introduced to Sirius until the end of PoA, and he only 
showed up occasionally in GoF. He was in OoP a bit more, but could 
Harry really develop a close connection to him after only spending a 
month in the summer and the Christmas holidays with him? And even if 
I could accept that he and Harry were close, I can't come to grips 
with why Harry needs more misery in his life.

4. The Prophecy: We had already pretty much figured this out – 
the only twist for me was that it could have been Neville. I think I 
expected JKR to come up with something more clever than what I had 
already concluded. And Voldy already seems determined to personally 
kill Harry – what would he really gain by hearing the rest of the 
prophecy?

5. Inconsistencies/Unanswered Questions: The last time we saw 
the Maurader's Map in book 4, it was in Barty Crouch Jr.'s 
possession, but now Harry's got it back with no explanation of how it 
was returned to him...Percy's prefect badge was silver in SS/PS, but 
Ron's is gold and scarlet...Sirius mentions Harry's grandparents, but 
Harry doesn't ask anything about them...Hagrid still can't do magic 
even though he was cleared in CoS and JKR has said in interviews that 
he's now allowed to do magic...Voldemort's willingness to spare Lily 
when he had tried to kill her three previous times and was killing 
off everyone in the original Order one by one...The Knight Bus 
picking up the trio from Grimmauld Place after Christmas when Harry 
originally arrived there in the summer in such great 
secrecy...Students taking the Hogwarts Express home for Christmas in 
CoS, but the trio taking the Knight Bus in OoP...No one from the 
Order guarding the prophecy when the DEs show up at the end...No 
mention of Halloween whatsoever...Harry going to the trouble of using 
the fire in Umbridge's office instead of using the 2-way mirror to 
talk to Sirius...No explanation of why the Order is called "The Order 
of the Phoenix."

6. Harry's Temper: This really took me by surprise. Harry 
starts the book by taunting Dudley and it just escalates from there. 
This is so unlike the Harry of the first four books – the Harry that 
says nothing when Lucius Malfoy tells him in CoS that he'll meet the 
same sticky end as his parents. Granted, Harry's getting older, but 
I thought his temperament change was a bit too abrupt to be 
believable.

7. Dumbledore-Harry Relationship: Dumbledore says he didn't 
tell Harry about the prophecy because he loved him too much. As with 
Sirius, I don't see how Harry and Dumbledore have had enough 
interaction in order for Dumbledore to have developed such a love. 
Dumbledore "watching" Harry's accomplishments isn't a basis for love, 
IMO.

8. No Tricks: I wasn't at all surprised that Kreacher squealed –
after all, he had a picture of Bellatrix Lestrange in his bed! The 
best part of the books for me has been the tricks – Scabbers the non-
rat, Fake!Moody. I missed not being tricked.

That being said, there actually were some things I liked:

1. I was happy to see Ron get a bit of glory for once.

2. There's hope for a Harry-Hermione SHIP – Hermione seems to 
have been monitoring Harry's Cho crush, and Harry exclaims that 
Hermione isn't ugly. I just hope JKR comes up with someone for Ron...

3. I guessed correctly on the Room of Requirement!

4. Neville's improvement under Harry's defense against the dark 
arts teaching.

5. Finding out that Arabella Figg is a squib, and that squibs 
can communicate with their cats.

6. Wondering what Dudley heard when attacked by the dementors.

7. Hermione's patronus is an otter! I'll be doing a separate 
post on that...

~Phyllis