book five

[helenic]

I wasn't going to post this, but no-one else I know has read it and I need to vent somewhere, and actually I'm getting a little sick of being so intellectual in this thing. Behind cut tags for the few of you who haven't read it yet. Warning: this is long, rambly, irrelevant, and entirely jeopardised by my own ignorance. Please don't look at this if you haven't read the book yet. It will pretty much ruin it for you, and as I'd seriously recommend you do read it, this would be a shame.



Two things have happened to me regarding the world of Harry Potter since I innocently read the Goblet of Fire; I've seen the film versions of the first two books, and I've read fanfiction. Not regularly, but some, at random and mostly at a distance, and I've certainly never admitted it before. Still, it was impossible for me to approach the fifth book the same way I approached the fourth, and I think I detected hints that Rowling herself had the same problem - perhaps not with fanfiction (although the line "once again Harry was on all fours in Snape's office" is particularly suspicious, and I know several people who are now convinced Sirius/Remus is canon) - but in her descriptions of things. Draco's physical features were for the first time ever described (and conveniently coincided with those of Tom Felton); Madame Hooch has now completely disappeared; characters such as McGonagall and Hagrid are now talking much more like their actors. It wasn't a bad thing at all, but I found it quite interesting how the separate realms of the Harry Potter world are beginning to affect each other.

I have very mixed reactions to the book. Of course I loved it. Loved it. Rowling is an incomparable storyteller and perfectly combined almost unbearable suspense with wonderful characterisation. It was upsetting, shocking, appalling, irritating, distressing and frustrating by turns. I've deleted four sentences now in an attempt to frame my thoughts coherently and so will list them, or face deciding yet again to not post this entry.

Harry

Loved him in this one, in the same way you'd love your moody, bolshy, aggressive little brother. Of course he pissed me off pretty much continually, his moodswings between "stop fucking staring at me, leave me alone" and "look at ME! understand ME! tell me everything you're keeping quiet for my own safety! Stop what you're doing and pay attention to ME!" irratated the hell out of me (although I was pretty much exactly the same at 15) - and fuck, if he spoke IN ALL CAPS one more time I was ready to throw the book across the room - his short-sightedness and oh, everything ... but at the same time, it was fantastic to see him develop into a real person, however angsty, who we could take a little more seriously as a protagonist than the cute little maltreated kid of the first few books. I can cope with the fact that slowontheuptake!Harry is pretty much canon, although it's frustrating when we have to go where he goes and he makes the wrong decisions.

characters I liked

- Sirius; in fact I reacted to him very similarly to Harry - and particularly the way they were together, the way they were so alike and understood each other better than anyone else even if they were both being selfish and reckless in their responses to each other.
- Remus ... or should that be "Sirius&Remus", as Rowling so often calls them?
- Fred and George. their exit was perfect; the high point of the book. Loved it. They rule.
- McGonagall. fuck yeah!
- Luna. she reminded me of me, for some reason. I wasn't quite that odd.
- Ginny, glad to see her given some depth. Loved the moment where she reminds Harry she was possessed by Voldemort. Oh yes.
- Petunia; verrrry very interesting. She can't be a squib because the Evans were muggles, but she must have a more complex response to magic than we thought. Probably jealousy, while Lily was away at boarding school and her parents were so proud, and to be honest who'd pick Vernon over James, even if he was a prick? It's a possibility that she has powers and is denying them. I want to know more about her.
- teenage!James, in that he wasn't the perfect role-model Harry thought he was. I always approve of characters being more human. Also it explains Harry's dark side, to some extent, and makes Snape a hell of a lot more sympathetic.
- Molly. About time that woman had a voice. I really felt for her, however overbearing she was being. The scene with the boggart was incredibly moving.
- Neville. really great character development here. I'm really loving the way he's a second Harry.

characters I hated

- Hagrid. always loathed him .
- Cho. ha! I was right about her being a shallow bitch, then.
- Dumbledore. really awful in this book. His explanation at the end was entirely unsatisfactory (nothing we hadn't already worked out, really); his behaviour towards Harry was inexcusable in that it made Harry believe he could no longer trust him - hence why he didn't report Umbridge's detentions (oh GOD that got under my skin; every time I think about it I wince. Horrible. Absolutely horrible), which was frankly appalling - and also the fact he thought it was fine to sacrifice Harry's childhood and mental and emotional wellbeing just because he didn't want him to "grow up spoilt". The fact that Arabella and Mundungus were watching over him only makes it worse, as Dumbledore clearly knew exactly what Harry was going through, and still sent him back each summer. He seemed to yo-yo between caring too much and not enough, and his final "it was your heart that saved you" almost made me retch. Ugh. Not a favourite here, not at all.
- Mundungus Fletcher. awful, clichéd pile of crap. take him away!
- Tonks. at first I liked her; in retrospect, she is 2D and just thrown in to be "cool." No.

Interesting new things

- The Black family tree. Fantastic. Narcissa? Oh so cool. Want to know more about the Blacks, their relation to the other pure-blood families, Sirius' relations. Were the Potters pureblood? Are any of them left?
- Voldemort being halfblood. Was that new? Liked it, anyway. Liked when Dumbledore called him Tom. Yeah.
- Harry and the crucio curse. The fact that he couldn't do it proves he's still not entirely gone - but I wonder if he ever will? (bet he will.)
- what did Dudley see when the Dementor got him?

Annoying/problematic things

- The unsubtle and ever-increasing Nazi Germany references, from the corrupt government to the Minister's lack of accountability to Umbridge's gradual clamp down on every aspect of public and private life, as well as institutionalised cruelty and the "Inquisitional Squad". Nazi Youth if ever I saw one. The DA and secret societies. The thing is that with the whole "pure blood" thing, if this is really meant to be set in the real world, surely someone would have picked up on it by now? Or do they know that little about Muggle history? Anyway, at least provides thought-provoking subtext, if not entirely consistent.
- The Thestrals. If you can't see them until you've seen death, how come Harry hasn't been able to see them the whole time? He saw Voldemort kill his parents, both as a baby and in countless flashbacks. And didn't he witness Quirrel being killed in PS? Big plot hole, as far as I can see.
- how ... many ... ellipses? For god's sake, woman, you don't need them at the end of every single paragraph.
- Quidditch. Seemed to try and provide a cheap "high point" in the same way as in the previous books, but merely cheapened what was otherwise a deeply moving and distressing book. Everything's going wrong, we're shocked, we're emotionally involved - and oh! Ron saved a goal and we're meant to be all super-happy. Not going to happen.
- Grawpy. What was with that? Seemed another unnecessary thrown-in-for-the-children bit.


Okay, then. Sirius' death. Had to get to it eventually. First thing - shock; second thing - but he can't be dead. Not because I don't want him to be, but it's all wrong. Firstly, it was a Stunning spell that hit him (red light) not Avada Kevadra (green light). Secondly, he fell behind the veil, from which we had previously heard voices and the importance of which Luna later makes quite explicit. Thirdly, his character had just been developed so fully and subtly, why kill him off? Why deprive Harry of another parent? What's the point? The only reason I have to convince me the death was a real one is, ironically enough, what Rowling herself has said about crying after writing it. Other than that, though, the whole thing is entirely suspicious. I have three theories:
1. Sirius is dead, and the veil is a portal to some sort of afterlife (in which case his falling into it was over-the-top and, frankly, beneath Rowling in terms of subtlety)
2. The veil is representative of death, thus making his death more conclusive and symbolic, with some sort of magical significance
3. Sirius did not die, and will later return à la Gandalf (which would be extremely poor plotting, and I hope it doesn't happen for the sake of the books, much as I want more of Sirius.)
All in all, the suddenness and inconclusiveness of it was so shocking it had to be for a reason, but other than impressing upon us the fact that this is a real war and people are going to really die I can't think of one. After the characterisation during the book it seems strange, and also a bit much in terms of Harry's sufferings. A little unbelievable.


As a whole, the book was bleak with very few rays of hope. Unlike the previous four, I think OoTP is more the beginning of a trilogy than a self-contained book. However complex GoF was, it at least concluded all its own sub-plots and had a cathartic, vaguely hopeful ending. Even after the defeat of Umbridge and return of Dumbledore, we are left feeling uncertain and fearful; the book lacked the celebration after the event, the feast in the Great Hall, the revelry to mark the triumph. As the first book in a trilogy, it opened more questions than it answered and was, in the same way as the Fellowship of the Ring, unsatisfying, in that it had no clear conclusion or feeling of release. We are not even told their exam results. I finished it without feeling like I'd finished. It was also unnecessarily long, in that much of the story could have been cut with no real loss (such as all the OWLS apart from Astrology and History of Magic). Rowling seems to be attempting to maintain the same balance between the plotlines of Voldemort, school, Quidditch and character relationships as in the first three, even though the nature of the story she is telling has drastically changed. It is no longer just a clever mixture of fantasy, school story and sport story to appeal to both sexes and all ages; it is dark, distressing, charged with doubt (particularly Harry's identity doubt, which is especially crucial as we see the story through his point of view, and if we cannot trust him what's the point?) and highly complex, with clear political/historical references. It's the nature of this change that makes the book difficult to swallow, the difference between what we expect and what we get.

In all other respects, it is at least as well-written, involving, imaginative, clever and entertaining as the His Dark Materials trilogy, in my opinion. However, it lacks the cohesion and completion of both those books and Goblet of Fire, which remains, I think, my favourite of the five.

Comments

[papercrane.livejournal.com]

just wanted to thank you for posting this because i, for one, very much enjoyed reading it. helped me reflect on what i thought of things, too. i have a half-page or so of scribbles i wrote about it the night i finished but of course i'm feeling it's too silly to post.

anyway, i liked lots of the same things you did (fred and george were FABULOUS), but i thought lots of things were exaggerated... young james, for example, seemed just too cruel, especially since there was no way to see it coming. and i thought snape had been a good student - should have been able to defend himself at least a bit, mm? though of course we as readers are seeing the moment through two filters - snape's memory, which may have exaggerated it to begin with, and harry's perception of it - maybe he was so shocked at what he was seeing that all he could see of it was how cruel his father was being...

and of course dumbledore. ugh in this book, i agree.

i could probably go on for awhile, but i won't.

[libellum.livejournal.com]

I know. Seeing as I've been expressly forbidden my parents from talking about it in the house in case they overhear, I just had to sort my thoughts out somewhere.

I'm not sure about the Marauders. I think a lot of people would like to know a lot more about them, particularly with the emphasis placed on how much James means to Harry in the previous books. I don't believe James is evil, you know, just beautiful and arrogant and manipulative, which a lot of teenagers are. Of course the popular kids bully the unpopular ones. It's odd that the Marauders were so gittish, though, and Fred and George (who have pretty much inherited their function as official troublemakers) are so amiable. I personally wasn't satisfied by Sirius' explanation and I think there's more to it than that. What was James trying to prove?

As for Snape defending himself - they disarmed him, and while Sirius, James and Remus were clearly physically fit, Snape was a geek and unable to fight back without his wand.

[secretxstar.livejournal.com]

Okay, well, first I need to note that I have my first exam in less than 5 hours and I have not slept one bit all night, being so desperate to finish the order of the phoenix. loved your notes on it. agreeing with quite a bit, even though i hadn't thought of much of it myself, before.

The Thestrals. If you can't see them until you've seen death, how come Harry hasn't been able to see them the whole time? He saw Voldemort kill his parents, both as a baby and in countless flashbacks. And didn't he witness Quirrel being killed in PS? Big plot hole, as far as I can see. REALLY annoyed me. I kept thinking the same thing.

Slash taking an effect (affect? I still get those confused.. I suck!) on Rowling - the bit where Patricia is saying to Dudley something like 'What did he do to you? Did he.. take out his THING?!' I mean, COME ON!!!

Also hated Cho, Dumbledore (who I usually LOVE!), Tonks and the explanation at the end. Sirius bugged me until the bit where he reminisced (sp?) about James. Would've been sad to see him die, but I was already told he would (grr). Kind of hope he comes back.. poor Harry.

Also loved Fred&George and McGonagall. As usual, Draco was great even if he wasn't in it enough (grr!). He should look like Tom Felton, he's fantastic! (Not that I want to jump his 14 year old bones, don't be gross!)

Agreed with the hating Harry's whinginess but loving how real he is becoming. Now he just needs to get it on with Draco.. (what?! WHAT?!)..

Err.. don't think I have any other points to make. Do be do.. Oh, yeah, also agreed with the fact that Rowling is fantastic, that she has managed to tell such an intricate story and amazed at how different the tone of this novel is, though they have all been building up to this. As I'm sure you said, the first four (?) were kind of stories in themselves, but they've become more and more tense and more and more developed and now it's getting to the point where I'm not sure I could even read it if I were younger! I'd be so scared!! And I'm not sure it would hold my interest, there being so much to take in.

Err.. had something else to say.. Oh! I need to read the 'His Dark Materials' triology.. I bought the first one today/yesterday because the part 1 english lit. course convener (sp?) goes on about it lots, loves throwing it into the lecture any time he possibly can (which is a lot considering this year has comprised mainly of intertextuality with a section on Paradise Lost).

Anyway! Going to revise for an hour and a half now before getting ready for le exam. Sigh.

STUPID!

[secretxstar.livejournal.com]

argh, so tired. first exam = last exam, patricia = petunia.

[libellum.livejournal.com]

I have my first exam in less than 5 hours and I have not slept one bit all night, being so desperate to finish the order of the phoenix.
best of luck with it. hope it goes well and remember - it'll all be over soon!

the bit where Patricia is saying to Dudley something like 'What did he do to you? Did he.. take out his THING?!'

"Who's Cedric - your boyfriend?"
"I - you're lying," said Harry automatically, But his mouth had gone dry. He knew Dudley wasn't lying - how else would he know about Cedric?

the slashinessissocanon! ("a hippogriff slashed me")!! Remus/Sirius (oh my god, Rowling even refers to them as a couple - it's all "Sirius and Remus" "Remus and Sirius"), Sirius/James (when they were fifteen they were both sexy beasts, Sirius clearly fancied him and all James could do with himself was try and impress Sirius), Sirius/Snape (oh, the passion. The taunting. The moment when Harry has to stand between them in the kitchen, arms outstretched, to stop them hexing each other into the next dimension. Ohtheunresolvedsexualtension!). Oh and of course Sirius and Harry pretty much taking it in turns to crush on each other, although that's to be expected if Sirius treats him the same way as James.

And of course, there's a strong case for Harry being either asexual or pretty much gay. Harry/Cho - not going to happen. She's an attention-seeking tart. Harry/Ginny? All he feels for her is relief, that she's not crushing on him any more - and she's certainly not interested. Harry/Hermione - fuck no.

I, however, remain convinced that Ron/Hermione still has a strong case for it. Why else do fifteen year olds bicker and tease each other, if not to hide secret crushes? And do you see how jealous he gets whenever he mentions any other guy? Particularly Krum. Also That Good Luck Kiss. tch, it's so canon.

Mm, and definitely read His Dark Materials. Apparently Pullman's other books are even better, although I haven't given them a try yet.

hope your exam went okay sweetheart.
xxx

[airmail.livejournal.com]

i hope i'm not intruding but ohhh, harry/luna! i bet fifty pence they tumble into some glorious and feverish teenage love affair in six.

see, she didn't really contribute to or uphold the storyline in any particuarly prominent way. she was being eased in, gradually introduced, and it seems pretty certain that her involvement in five was but a platform for six which will see her emerge as quite a central character. the run-in between her and harry in chapter thirty eight when they should both be at the feast seems such an absurdly clear indication that something is set to happen between them.

"Harry nodded curtly, but found that for some reason he did not mind Luna talking about Sirius"
&
"They looked at each other. Luna was smiling slightly. Harry did not know what to say, or to think; Luna believed so many extraordinary things...yet he had been sure he had heard voices behind the veil, too."
&
"She walked away from him and, as he watched her go, he found that the terrible weight in his stomach seemed to have lessened slightly"

they have common ground which will become of much worth to harry now that sirius is gone, and that moment sees him perhaps recognising luna as not some oddball girl from the year below, but somebody who is intricate and intangible and somebody whose company seems good for him.

i don't know. maybe i'm getting carried away but it seems like some kind of social commentary. at first, harry liked cho. cho is popular and pretty, but when they got together and spent time with one another harry discovered that she had little substance and he really didn't like her that much at all, hence him not caring when he finds out that she's now going out with michael corner. luna lovegood is a little strange and odd-looking but near the end there's hints of harry overcoming the common perception of her and realising that he is endeared by her and all her quirks. so it's like harry potter is set to fall for the underdog, the potential bohemian! it's textbook, but it's beautiful! gosh!

see that kids? it's coo to be strange. chosen ones will dig you. it's coo to be a swot too. because ron weasley will dig you. i wish ron weasley dug me.

alright alright i'm done.

[libellum.livejournal.com]

NO! HARRY IS GAY GODDAMNIT!! GAY!!! IF I TALK IN ALL CAPS LIKE HIM I'LL SWAY YOU WITH MY INCISIVE LOGICAL REASONING! CLEARLY!!!

*ahem*

I like the idea of Harry/Zacharias myself. Zach=Draco Lite; blond, snarky, antagonistic, but not quite Slytherin.

[airmail.livejournal.com]

ohhh but look at all the astute observations i made! i thought i was being really clever.

[secretxstar.livejournal.com]

Noooo!!! He's not Draco-lite, he's annoying and evil, whereas Draco is just cool. Damnit. Harry is gay and is going to make gay babies with Draco. Yes.

making gay babies!

[libellum.livejournal.com]

*laughs so hard she falls off chair*

[secretxstar.livejournal.com]

Yup, the exam was alright.. Not too hideous. I can imagine just scraping a pass too, which is always pleasant.

I can't even remember who Remus is, which is why I've taken it upon myself to reread as much of the series as I can without getting bored. Sirius/Snape definately. Maybe they haven't realised yet, but if he hadn't have died, I bet they'd be about to jump straight in the sack with one another.

Aww, yeah, Ron & Hermione are going to fall in luurve!! That way if JKR ever runs out of money (ha!) she could write the next generation of Potters (Potter-Malfoys I should say) who go to school with the Weasley-Grangers. It will be adorable!! Oh and the Longbottom-Lovegoods. So cute.

I'm so sad.

xxx

[leafofgrass.livejournal.com]

I had noticed that same thing concerning the slipping from a distict novel-voice to a fitting more fully with the movie voice. Snape's words and mannerisms are much more like Rickman's at this point than in the first book. (and on that note, didn't you want Harry and Snape to make peace over the memory thing? I really thought that Harry would try to confront Snape and the two might make up in some way... something to look forward too perhaps?)

On the whole, I see much more of a Star Wars-esque plot emerging here (i.e. Dumbledore as an Obi Wan "I know more than you and can do nothing more to help you on your difficult path but sacrifice myself for you and show you the task ahead," Hermione and Ron as Leah and Han, Voldemort as the Vader figure (that prophetic life link thing that has come about really ties into the father-son routine)...) The fact that Harry is becoming more of an adolescent and less of child really plays into his fall to the "dark side" in this novel. Of course Bellatrix tells us that his was righteous anger and not hate that fueled him, it will be interesting to see where all this "clear your mind of hate" and "love will save you from Voldemort" stuff is going.
Peace,
-B

[libellum.livejournal.com]

and on that note, didn't you want Harry and Snape to make peace over the memory thing? I really thought that Harry would try to confront Snape and the two might make up in some way... something to look forward too perhaps?)
Yes, I did hope that would happen, but in honesty never really expected it to - Harry would never go out of his way to admit he'd been a presumptious, arrogant little wanker and Snape's hardly the humble type. I think the revelation was more for our benefit than theirs. Although Harry and Snape are going to have to start co-operating soon if the next book is as bellicose as we're led to believe.

Hah, I hadn't noticed the star wars parallels myself (although my mum is halfway through and convinced Voldemort is Harry's father) but you make a good point. It's all very cheesy really, but you gotta love it. And I wouldn't be surprised if Dumbledore does sacrifice himself; and in the wake of OoTP, I wouldn't really mind.

[z-e-r-o.livejournal.com]

I agree with many of the points you raise and have little to add other than to bow in admiration for your excessive fan ramblings.

I was disappointed to see Dumbledore sidelined so excessively, I assumed their would be a good reason for this and there was not. It seemed as if some characters had been dropped or marginalized so that JK would have more room to explore the new faces. No bad thing if the explanations work - but they just didn't.

Quiddich is banned and harry's broom is locked up..? if she wants to write less about quid then I'd have been more impressed if harry had just quit the damn team. She couldn't even bring herself to write about Rons goal.

Fred and George were a triumph tho were they not, while Harry bleated about having homework with Snape they got on with the job of anarchy and insurrection - I hope the next book is called Fred and George get to work on Voldemort - they can call on Bruiser McGonagall for help and Harry can sit in the office with Dumbledore having a little cry.

I take issue with your defense of James Potter - the popular kids do not automatically bully the unpopular ones, harrys dad was apparently a rotten fucking shit and that's that.

I'm afraid that I think Sirius will be coming back (Sirius the white?) Yes the the whole thing is entirely suspicious, and I think done with good reason - so that she could announce a "major character death" in this book and then turn the last third into a rollercoaster of near-misses where almost everyone nearly dies at some point. Manipulative use of pre publicity rather than good writing, and fanfuckingtastic, i was sweating buckets and twitching with every spell cast.

Finally, too much slash fic is bad for you! It's a sad thing that no male characters are allowed to exist in fiction without being homo-eroticised and its sheer wish fulfillment on your part. HP is not going to turn into brideshead revisited no matter how much you want it to.

PS: You never liked Hagrid? I am now officially not enamored of you.

[libellum.livejournal.com]

excessive?? Bah! not that the length of your reply was? Face it Z, we're all geeks here and are taking ourselves far too seriously, including you, so hush.

I was disappointed to see Dumbledore sidelined so excessively, I assumed there would be a good reason for this and there was not.
I suppose one of the reasons Dumbledore needed to be sidelined was because in the previous books he's often acted as a sort of deus ex machina, stepping in benevolently at the end and making everything all right. Harry's dependence on him was something that really had to be curtailled before the series progressed much furth, and he also had to realise that no-one, even the almighty force for good, Dumbledore, is perfect and utterly reliable.

Quiddich is banned and harry's broom is locked up..? if she wants to write less about quid then I'd have been more impressed if harry had just quit the damn team. She couldn't even bring herself to write about Rons goal.
Actually this hadn't occurred to me as a weakness; maybe I was too distracted by all the Sirius/Remus implications, or perhaps it was just too subtle for me? Personally I was devastated by the "ban for life", although I found it so extreme that suspension of disbelief was really no longer an option - it began to seem as if anything could - and would - happen. I think not writing about Ron's goal was probably quite sensible for the reasons I mentioned above - Quidditch as a formula for lifting the mood of the book really wasn't going to work any more. Although perhaps the reason the Gryffindor victory does seem cheap is because we aren't there to witness it, and hence it becomes meaningless?

Ha! yes, F&G rock my socks. Ginny will turn out similarly, I betcha. I want to see more action from Bill and Charlie though (and for once, I don't mean this slashily) - if they were ever made three-dimensional, I think they could be very successful characters.

I take issue with your defense of James Potter - the popular kids do not automatically bully the unpopular ones, harrys dad was apparently a rotten fucking shit and that's that.
Ah - no - I wasn't defending James' actions, just the believability of them. And in my experience, if someone is beautiful and arrogant and cool, it's automatic for them to treat the greasy spotty kids like shit. Not that I was a greasy spotty kid. Well, not much.

It's a sad thing that no male characters are allowed to exist in fiction without being homo-eroticised and its sheer wish fulfillment on your part. HP is not going to turn into brideshead revisited no matter how much you want it to.
Oh, calm yourself. You'll notice I kept the main post quietly neutral, and only launched into fanfic-inspired ravings after it had been established that, much as I dislike Hagrid, I'm not stupid? Of course I know Rowling will never write these things. Phrases such as "omg theirloveissocanon!!!" are so often used I felt confident using them satirically, but you obviously hadn't read enough slash to get the joke.

beautiful and arrogant and cool

[z-e-r-o.livejournal.com]

beautiful and arrogant yes, cool no.

I was convinced that what we first saw was merely snapes biased recollection of events and was aghast to see them later confirmed.

Not as aghast as I was to see you say you found this attractive, but almost. No wonder you like all that fanficslash nonsense you big perv.

[secretxstar.livejournal.com]

Fred and George were a triumph tho were they not, while Harry bleated about having homework with Snape they got on with the job of anarchy and insurrection - I hope the next book is called Fred and George get to work on Voldemort - they can call on Bruiser McGonagall for help and Harry can sit in the office with Dumbledore having a little cry.

Muahaha. Sing it sista! Or brother. Whatev.

Finally, too much slash fic is bad for you! It's a sad thing that no male characters are allowed to exist in fiction without being homo-eroticised and its sheer wish fulfillment on your part. HP is not going to turn into brideshead revisited no matter how much you want it to.

Lies. If we all will it hard enough, Draco and Harry will get it on, Hermione and Ron (as the token straight couple) and then Snape, McGonagall and Luna Lovegood in some very strange kinky threesome type thing. Yes. Not to mention Crabbe & Goyle who blatantly are doing it behind the Harry Potter scenes. Yup.

[z-e-r-o.livejournal.com]

I have never seen "Whatev" before - is this some sort of "my ennui is such that i cannot even bring myself to dismiss my train of thout with the entire word "whatever" and have to abbreviate it"

Genius.

[secretxstar.livejournal.com]

Yes. That's exactly what it is.

Alternatively it may be one of the stupid things I've picked up from my girlfriend and her 'too cool for school' crew.

That's exactly what it is.

[z-e-r-o.livejournal.com]

fab, what an ugly "word" - I will use it from now on when in "too cool for you fool" mode. ta.

[oranges.livejournal.com]

i was almost relieved when she revealed the faults of harry's parents, who in the previous books came across as a pair of righteous goody-goodys. not only does their imperfection signify a major rite of passage for our young harry, but james potter = mmmmmmm!

[libellum.livejournal.com]

indeed. I'm torn between loathing for him (because I can easily picture myself in Snape's shoes) and lust. Actually scrap that, the two can be quite easily combined; think of Heathcliff, for goodness' sake. I was relieved too, I liked the way many of the characters were revealed in more depth to show their imperfections.