HBP: spoiler rolling balls

[dorbandb]

--- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "mooseming" <josturgess at e...> wrote:
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> Just to start the ball rolling how about
> Regulus Alphard Black?
> 
> Regards
> Jo




Yes, Jo - That was definitely the first (only?) person I thought of. 
But I couldn't remember where his middle name was mentioned.  Thanks
for that.  I'm not sure what that gets us though.  Regulus is dead,
and the horcrux that cost AD his life isn't really the horcrux at all.
 Granted, it will take a slow-witted guy like me several readings to
see things more clearly, but my first thought is that the real
horcrux, that Regulus had at one point, is among the trinkets at 12GP
- unless Diadulus Diggle has pilfered it already - unaware of it's
significance, of course.  Since Harry now owns 12GP, he'll find that
one easily enough.  That still leaves 3 others...

Some other first impressions:

It seems awfully late in the game to introduce the concept of
horcruxes, and to leave 4 of them unaccounted for.  Golly, it seems
She could devote a whole book on the tracking and destruction of
*each* one - but there's only one book left.  I thought She was going
to have a mighty time trying to tie up all the loose threads in the
final 2 books just with the info that we already had - now it seems
there are *more* loose ends than ever, and I have no idea how she'll
work it out.  Book 7 will need be almost entirely exposition to get
everything accounted for, dontcha think?!?!?  So many issues to
resolve...I almost can't imagine that she'll get to *everything* in
the last book.  Here I am thinking about the next book already...sorry.

I thought the scene where Snape AK's Dumbledore was powerfully
written.  I readily admit to shedding several tears during the last
hour or so of reading.  The notion that it was effectively a mercy
killing never entered my mind.  I heard Dumbledore's "pleading" as
just that - "Please Severus, don't let me down now..."  Of course,
I've never thought Snape was anything close to a good guy, regardless
of Dumbledore's trust.  When he entered into the unbreakable oath,
that sealed the deal for me in terms of his trustworthiness.

More later...need time to think...and mourn.

Brian