HBP impressions, spoilers, and a tantrum

[joywitch_m_curmudgeon]

alsdkfjqpwoinvSPOILER SPACEa;oskdj;alskdfjasldk
alsdkfjqpwoinvSPOILER SPACEa;oskdj;alskdfjasldk
alsdkfjqpwoinvSPOILER SPACEa;oskdj;alskdfjasldk
alsdkfjqpwoinvSPOILER SPACEa;oskdj;alskdfjasldk
alsdkfjqpwoinvSPOILER SPACEa;oskdj;alskdfjasldk
alsdkfjqpwoinvSPOILER SPACEa;oskdj;alskdfjasldk
alsdkfjqpwoinvSPOILER SPACEa;oskdj;alskdfjasldk
alsdkfjqpwoinvSPOILER SPACEa;oskdj;alskdfjasldk
alsdkfjqpwoinvSPOILER SPACEa;oskdj;alskdfjasldk
alsdkfjqpwoinvSPOILER SPACEa;oskdj;alskdfjasldk
alsdkfjqpwoinvSPOILER SPACEa;oskdj;alskdfjasldk
alsdkfjqpwoinvSPOILER SPACEa;oskdj;alskdfjasldk

First, my tantrum:

I am SO MAD at JKR for killing Dumbledore.  I knew from the start 
that Dumbledore would eventually have to die, but I was sure it 
wouldn't happen until book 7.  It's not fair to Harry -- it's too 
soon after Sirius' death, there's still too much for Harry to learn 
from him, it's too painful, it's TOO AWFUL.  ::sobs::

And I hate Snape for killing him.  I don't care if it does turn out 
to be true that he did it under Dumbledore's orders or it's all part 
of some grand plan or Dumbledore was dying anyway because of the 
magical blech he drank I don't care I don't care I HATE SNAPE ANYWAY 
he's always been a greasy sadistic ugly bullying unprofessional 
slimeball.

::stomps foot on floor::

</tantrum>

OK, I have a lot of thoughts (well, duh) about this book, but right 
now I'd like to throw out a bunch of question/thoughts that seem to 
me to be the most important:

1.  Why did Dumbledore freeze Harry?  Obviously, he was protecting 
Harry, but why freeze him, as opposed to a magical barrier or 
something?  Why a spell that meant that Harry could watch, but not 
act?

2.  What is the "iron-clad" proof that Dumbledore had of Snape's 
loyalty?  WHAT WHAT WHAT?  It's obviously something more significant 
than Snape expressing remorse or Dumbledore's wanting to think the 
best of everyone.  Did Snape make an Unbreakable Vow to Dumbledore?  
If so, who was the Bonder?

3. Dumbledore's statement that prophecies do NOT have to be fulfilled 
seem very significant to me.  Previously, I had assumed that 
prophecies were a little slice of the future -- so that nothing could 
prevent them coming true, but apparently that's not so.  Interesting.

4. How come a woman as creative as JKR, who has invented words 
like "pensieve" and "occlumency" and names like "St. Mungos" 
and "Mafalda Hopkirk," could not come up with a better word for the 
magical objects that contain a piece of a murderer's soul 
than "horcrux?"  Horcrux?  The book's only been out for 2 days and 
there are already at least 5 or 10 parodies of it on this list alone.

5. I think the real reason Dumbledore never let Snape have the DADA 
job before is because, as we learned in HBP, it's been jinxed for the 
last 40 or so years, and Dumbledore needed to keep Snape around 
Hogwarts for longer than a year.  I always thought that the 
explanation that Dumbledore didn't want Snape to be "tempted by the 
Dark Arts" did not make sense (unless Snape is enrolled in some sort 
of 12 step program for recovering Dark Wizards with very strict 
rules).  Snape is obviously a powerful wizard; if he wants to 
experiment with the Dark Arts he could do it in the Potions Dungeon 
as easily as in the DADA classroom.  Note that this theory, if true, 
implies that Dumbledore knows when he hires Slughorn SNAPE WILL ONLY 
BE AROUND HOGWARTS FOR ONE MORE YEAR.  Hmmm.

6.  Does Snape making the Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa even make 
sense in terms of saving her little Drakums?  Won't Voldy kill Draco 
anyway, when he finds out (there were witnesses, remember) that Draco 
couldn't/didn't kill Dumbledore and that Snape had to do it for him?

7.  Just how many wizards and witches are there floating around who 
can cast spells without saying them out loud?  Is it an uncommon 
skill that only the most powerful can manage?  It seems to be a NEWT-
level skill, but it would be interesting to know a little more about 
it.

That's all for now.

--Joywitch M. Curmudgeon, who thinks that the Accio committee should 
cancel the Snape trial, hang him in effigy (or, preferably, in 
actuality), and hold a memorial service for Dumbledore instead