Harry Potter

[Ley]

The next bit will be in reply to DHA so shall also be in black...

1) I'm probably the only one who actually liked the book and it's ending. Yes it was cliche, but who cares really. It's a book.
2) I'm 99% sure I know who R.A.B is. Let's see, someone who Voldy knew, and had a reason to expect to be dead soon after writing the note. Who have we heard of in passing in two seperate books who left the D.E's? None other than Sirius' baby brother Regulus Black.
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Can anyone tell I'm bored?

[Earthquake923]

Oh, I never thought of that. Very good Ley.
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If anybody asks about the avatar, I did it for Jess.

[Filipe]

Maybe those of you who have read all of the books could tell me something from their personal perspective. The most of my friends, who have read the books tend to just give me the details when I ask to hear about the books so i dont really get a good idea behind it. So here is what I am essentially asking which is probably not all that much but hey some people might not be willing to do so. That is also fine mind you.

I would like someone to give me their honest opinion on the series as a whole, and what could have been done to improve the books themselves. This could also help generate some interest in the series among the members of the board who have not read the books in the last book of the series. It would take a bit of work for whomever was making it, but im sure me, along with some of the other members on the forum would appreciate it.
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[Dynast]

In reply to Dark Horizon Angel regarding some of his/her questions, save for the one that has already been answered by Ley (please highlight in black):

Actually, I believe that the Ginny/Harry pairing is likened to the relationship between James Potter and Lily Evans when they were in school- they only got together much later in the school years, and there was initially no interest from one of the parties (Lily, and Harry, of course). History repeating itself? Maybe.

As for Snape, I'd advise you strongly against judging him so early. There is a possibility that he may have had plans with Dumbledore, in which I shall write more about below.


Erm. I realize that there seems to be an abundance of people going omgliekihatesnapeheistehsuxxorzzzzzzzoneoneone!! all over the Internet (although I have not seen many on this board itself), and I think that well....there may be more to his intentions behind that. Make no mistake, I still despise Snape as I've never liked him since the beginning of the series, but that's not a valid reason to butcher his characterisation, is it?

Highlight yet again. Gah. Maybe it's time to open a full 'Spoilers! HBP" thread or something so that we can all stop using black font. Anyway.


I believe that Dumbledore and Snape had made plans beforehand regarding what he was to do when Dumbledore was faced with the predicament. Look at it this way. We know very well that Dumbledore had been weakened by the potion that he drank to acquire the (fake) locket, but it would really seem off character if he were to pleade to Snape. Furthermore, if Dumbledore and Snape are in fact, very accomplished Legilimens, and it would not be difficult for them to open some type of bond, with Dumbledore telling Snape to go ahead with the plan. To add to that, the Unbreakable Vow that Snape made would have made him do the same thing anyway. I believe that Dumbledore told Snape to finish it off if it ever came to that stage, as he did not want Draco to become a murderer.

One thing that still confounds me and actually invalidates the entire theory is the fact that Voldemort, as we know is a very accomplished Legilimens. Surely he must have known that Snape was still working for Dumbledore as well? Indeed, Snape knows Occlumency, but if his Occlumency is as good as Voldemort's Legilimens, surely they would be on par? If that was so, wouldn't Snape be the equal of Voldemort?


And I've left this last thing in white as it ties in with Book 5, and is mere speculation. Regarding the Horcruxes and the 'fake locket', do you agree that the locket could be the exact same one that Sirius and Harry found in Book 5 when they were cleaning out Grimmauld Palace? On both occasions, it has been mentioned as 'heavy', and with the theories of who R.A.B. really is (please refer to Ley's post), wouldn't it make the most sense that the Horcrux is really in Grimmauld Palace? :o

[Walawala]

I think the next book was too rushed. The romance was horible, and didn't need to be, she could have cut alot of ROn's make out time out, and it would have been better.

[Tonberry]

Spoilers: Highlight!



I just finished the book today and this book is now oficiialy my favorite in the series. My favorite chapter in the series was Flight of the Prince. I thought it was very well-written.

AS FOR SNAPE...As in many many many other places in the HP series, I think it's a little to early to judge Snape. I think it was planned as well. Dumbledore's last words were "Severus...please" or "Please...Severus" (can't remember the order.) That could mean that he wanted to die and for Snape to do it. I honestly think Snape is unsure who is going to win out, the good guys or the bad guys so he's being a double agent to protect his own hide.

I have a few problems with this book. I really didn't like how that locket wasn't the horcrux. I wanted it to be one. It would have satisfied me a bit.

Anyway, I thought of something weird while reading. Since the last horcrux is not accounted for, could it be Harry himself? Voldemort could have used either the murder of Lilly or James to make Harry a horcrux. Weird idea huh?

Another odd horcrux thing...Will the snake horcrux die or will it live forever due to Voldy's spirit?

As for the coupling, I thought it was a bit odd. The "snogging" was definately unneccesary. This is a series for kids right? I think Ron was good with Lavender Brown. Oh well.

I wonder if Ron and Hermione will hook up. Sure seems that way. Also, I'm unsure of Harry and Ginny's relationship. He tried to break up with her at the end of the book. I couldn't tell if the break up actualy occured or not. Hmmm. Tough call. Something that bugs me is that J.K. actually did what the fans wanted with the couples. That wasn't good in my opinion. I like it when she surprises me.

I loved Voldy's past. It was VERY interesting. I liked the Riddle House tie-in. It explained a lot. I liked the explanation of his past, and I hate hiim even more now. He did some very bad things in the past.

I was dissapointed that Neville was somewhat ignored in this book and the same with Hagrid. There wasn't enough of them.

I really loved the part of the story in Hogwarts when the Dark Mark was up. I thought it to be VERY entertaining.

One more thing (there may be more, but I'll think about it later)... What exactly is Occulmency and Legimancy and Veriterisum (or however you spell them)? I don't really understand that all too well. Can I have them explained to me? Thank you.

[Elc]

My basic understanding is:

Occlumency: The ability to shield your mind from intrusion.
Legilimency: The ability to enter ones mind and extract emotions and memories.
Veritaserum: A powerful truth potion.
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"You make me smash the clock and feel, I'd rather die behind the wheel.
Time was never on my side, So on I wait my whole lifetime."

[Filipe]

Hmmm just making a note from an observation i've made through the definitions of said terms, but it seems like those guards of Azkaban beings use a form of Legilimency dont they? If thats not, fact, and it is some other method they use that has been mentioned feel free to correct me. However it made it seem, that through making the prisoners suffer with only sad memories, and sad feelings along those lines anyway.

However, I have not really read any of the books personally so I dont know whether this is true or not.
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[Earthquake923]

Grudge you read mu mind. I was thinking about that with Harry as a horcrux, it validates JK's so you think Harry will live quote. That would leave Ron, and Hermonie, or Dumbldore as the person that possibly kills Voldy. It was said many times that some of Voldy's powers were transfered to Harry when he allegedly tried to kill him. Is everyone so sure of the last spell Voldy cast? It's a little too contrived. Will Voldy go after the remaining horcrux, or leave them to their to thier own device? And with the next book supposidly being the thickest should she have put more in previous books?
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If anybody asks about the avatar, I did it for Jess.

[Tonberry]

Well, I really do think he's a horcrux. Harry and Voldemort seem to have a similar appearance and if Harry was a Horcrux, then he's definately get Voldemort's powers. Makes sense to me.

[Child of The Sea God]

[Sophita]

Fair warning: Book 6 spoilers. Highlight to read.

Just finished it, myself.

I liked it, but not as much as some of the other books. It felt really rushed, and I think that shows through. It also wasn't that well edited (probably in a rush to get the books out more than a Rice like "I AM BEYOND EDITORS!" stance) and I think that showed through, too. There were a couple typos in it, and one that wasn't a typo but read like one (fug), and another word would have been preferable there, I think.

I also didn't really like the romance and thought it felt jarring. The couples are fine, it's just...Hermione goes from not liking Ron as anything more than a friend in 5 books to being obsessed with him. (And I don't think she was waiting for him to "get a clue"; giving both your best friends the same present is a pretty blatant way of saying you like them both the same. 0.o) And Harry went from pretty much being aware of but not particularily interested in Ginny to being obsessed with making out with her, which is just...uhm. Uhm. I would have prefered a bit of build-up to that, too. (A Crush on him in year 2 does not count as much build up to me, especially when 4 years in between fail to build on that.) I mean I suppose you could fanwank it to be just hormones, I guess, but I think it's a bit of a bad excuse and would have liked to see more build-up of the romances or no romance at all.

Though I did, strangely enough, like the Remus/Tonks-y bits. But oye, I bet there's going to be tons of hate for Tonks now in the fandom. (Shame.)

The end of Dumbledore disturbed me a lot. I knew it was coming, because I spoiled myself like woah, but it was still so sad.

Did anyone else find it interesting this book has loads of continuity with Goblet of Fire but very litle continuity with Order of the Phoenix?

And, speculation, most of it taken from book 6 but not spoiling because...Well, because they're not a spoiler:

1) I walked away from that book feeling that it's more likely than ever that Lily and Severus had some connection.I think the fact that Snape is very bitter towards James but not, seemingly, towards Lily is rather interesting. They were both involved in the Slug club and both excellent at potion work, so I think they had some connection that we haven't gotten much information on yet.

2) I think one of the horcruxes is going to be either the Griffindor Sword, or a person Harry knows and trusts. Perhaps even Harry himself. I walked away thinking it would be Ginny (because I am that twisted, I suppose X_X) but it's been ruled out, now. Maybe both.
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SCII month continues! DueFiumi.com

John Layfield wrote:

But bubbles... children love bubbles! XD

[Hugo]

I'm going to have to stop reading this thread, there are too many potential spoilers for me, even without the highlighting. I think I've forgotten what I've read already because it was some wierd word, so it's okay.

My sister usually buys the DVDs, but I have to admit that I do enjoy watching them. I thought that this was something that you couldn't tell your friends, but it turns out some of them like it aswell. I also believed that the Harry Potter movies rivaled The Lord of the Rings movies, but alot of people don't feel that way at all and you can like both of them.

[Kalidor]

I'm not sure how much of this is really spoiler, but just in case it is, I'm going to make it in black so that you have to highlight it if you want to read. So that you have an idea of what it is, it is expanding on my thoughts of Snape, and how he is treated in The Half-Blood Prince. So, here we go.

Let me begin by saying that even if I were happy about the developments that Snape has taken (which I am most definitly NOT, but more on that later) I think it was a huge mistake to highlight Snape with two characters that we know to be evil, right in the opening pages of the book. It just takes all of the surprise out of it. I also think the fact that he swore the unbreakable curse to protect Malfoy takes any hint of doubt that anyone might have right out of the picture. He swears an oath to Protect Malfoy while doing Voldemort's task, an oath that if broken means death. It plain eliminates even the faint possibility that Snape might just be trying to remain undercover for Dumbledore and spy on the Death Eaters. Thus, when Snape walks onto the tower to see Dumbledore helpless, my only reaction was a big yawn, instead of the gasp that I should have been uttering on having my fears about Snape confirmed.

That said, I don't even think that Snape should have been made into some calculating evil bastard at all. It just gives the readers the easy way out. I think that most readers have probably disliked, maybe even loathed, Snape all along. However, just when we thought he was at his worst, we found out that he had been aiding Harry. Take, for example, when Quirrel was hexing Harry's broom during the Quiditch match, and Snape was countering it. We all thought that Snape was the one, but I bet we felt silly when we found out we were wrong. Of course, in the Half Blood Prince, we discover that he was only doing it because he didn't know about the Quirrel/Voldemort connection, but that doesn't matter. We didn't like Snape, but then we found out we were being unreasonable. I think that it was a really good symbol; just because you don't find someone particularly tasteful or likeable doesn't mean that they aren't good people, or that they might try to help you. But with Snape being this bad guy all along, all of that goes out the window. We are now justified in our dislike of Snape and can say "I told you so!" and "I knew it all along!" I'm sure that it's nice and cosy that we now know that we can hate Snape without feeling bad, since he is, after all, evil. I just think that we lost a big human element from the book, and a little bit of a lesson about tolerance and understanding.

Ok, when I read it myself, there are a few little spoilers, but nothing that major. Hopefully people will read it and respond, because I would be interested to know if anyone else feels the way that I do about the character turn that Snape has taken.

[Tonberry]

As I have said before, I think that Dumbledore wanted Snape to kill him. (read one of my earlier posts) It could have been some very clever set up and Dumbledore was willing to die to see it work. Not quite sure, but J.K. has made us think wrongly about Snape in the past, so there's always a possibility it'll happen again.

Sophita, I agree with the couple analysis. It was kind of out of nowhere. I know that the fans have always wanted Ron and Hermione to be together. I guess she caved in to the want of the fans. Kinda odd if you ask me.

I honestly have no problem with the Harry/Ginny, Bill/Fleur, Remus/Tonks, or Filch/what's her name couples. They're alright, but I just got the feeling that everyone had to be dating someone in this book for some reason. Dunno why she had to do that. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if Neville and Luna got together in the next book.