dramaturgy | OotP Review Part Two

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OotP Review Part Two

Part the Second

While reading, I followed 4 rules:

WWP’s Rules of Constant Vigilance
1. If she reinforces it, she means us, and wants us to remember it.
2. If she sudden interrupts something, she’s hiding a key clue.
3. There’s no such thing as a coincidence.
4. Don’t take a character’s word for it.

Corollaries
4a. Hermione is usually right (except when she gets emotional).
4b. Ron is usually wrong (except when he’s joking).

Chapter 1 – Dudley Demented

- Mark Evans? Any relation to Lily Evans? ;) (Refer to rule #3.)

Chapter 2 – A Peck of Owls

- I think everyone figured Arabella to be a witch. Never a squib! That was a great twist, though. Don’t mess with her though, she’s lethal with that bag of cat food!
- I don’t think that they pay Mafalda Hopkirk enough. Seriously.
- On the excited side of things, we have a signature for Arthur Weasley! :D If there’s two small things that give me pleasure in these books, it is signatures on letters and middle names.
- Uncle Vernon just cracked me up with this chapter. “Enough with the effin owls!” Five owls in twenty minutes. He must be livid. :D And with the dementoids, dismembers, Lord Voldie thingy… XD
- Petunia, on the other hand, floored me. She knew what Azkaban was, she knew what a Howler was, and she knew what Lord Voldemort’s return could mean.
- ”REMEMBER MY LAST, PETUNIA!” Since we now know it was Dumbledore who sent it… his last what? His last letter to her or his last visit to Privet Drive is the most obvious answer, but that seems a little too obvious…

Chapter 3 – The Advance Guard

- Mad-Eye and Lupin all in one chapter. W00t!

Chapter 4 – Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place

- Grim old place. Bwah ha ha.
- Bill/Fleur. Not only am I squeeing, I am laughing in amusement.
- The family rift… :( That row sounded bad. Like, bad.
- Daily Prophet. Libelous shit. Grr.
- Lovely woman, Mrs. Black. ::cough::

Chapter 5 – The Order of the Phoenix

- Well, I’m glad we finally got what the Order actually is cleared up. Not that we didn’t catch onto that quick as a wink. ;)
- I think Molly and Sirius have a bit of a… er, territorial kerfluffle where Harry is concerned.
- I see the point, but scared of Dumbledore? Unless you’re Voldemort or a Death Eater, that’s like being scared of the cotton candy man at an amusement park. … Okay, point taken.

Chapter 6 – The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black

- I think this was my favorite chapter of the whole book. In the top five, anyway.
- It makes sense that Pureblood families are interrelated. I mean, European royalty has been doing the same thing for much longer than that.
- I expect we’ll be hearing more about this brother of Sirius’. Least, I want to.
- With relatives that tried to do things like get Muggle hunting made legal and started a family tradition of beheading house elves, is it any wonder that Sirius has a reputation of a mass murderer?
- The mystery of the three people with Barty Crouch Jr. solved!

Chapter 7 - The Ministry of Magic

- Anyone else get the Matrix-y vibe off of using the phone booth?
- Arthur. Needs. A bigger. Office.

Chapter 8 - The Hearing

- Ignatius -- from the Greek "ignatios" meaning "fiery, ardent". Just food for thought. :)
- Also noted that Dumbledore's first middle name is Percival. Could Percy be named after him in some way?
- Mrs. Figg's middle name Doreen means "golden".
- I believe that Fudge was being, as John would say, an asshat.

Chapter 9 - The Woes of Mrs. Weasley

- Still dislike Lucius Malfoy.
- I liked that Harry threw money into the fountain like he said he would. He's a good kid.
- Poor Mrs. Weasley and her boggart! :(
- Jealous!Harry is even less becoming than Jealous!Ron.

Chapter 10 - Luna Lovegood

- It was noted by every single member of my family thus far having read the book (my uncle, my mother, my sister, and my brother) that I remind them of Luna.
- Her father's the editor of the Quibbler. Want a glass of water to wash down that foot Hermione?
- Why were Ron and Hermione wearing crowns in Harry's dream?

Chapter 11 - The Sorting Hat's New Song

- I notice that Dumbledore's robes are the same color as the robes that attacked Ron at the Order HQ. (…)
- I made a note to remember Euan Abercrombie.

Chapter 12 - Professor Umbridge

- I think "WAAAAH!" says it all.
- Have a biscuit. XD

Chapter 13 - Detention with Delored

- Hermione! Delivering the smackdown to Fred and George!
- Good boy, Ernie! For someone who thought Harry was the Heir of Slytherin, that's not bad!
- Yeah, Delores, Harry's controlling his temper now, but HIS BRAIN IS ABOUT TO EXPLODE ALL OVER YOUR GODDAMNED DOILIES!
- I reckon Seamus wants to believe Harry, but he's scared.
- That quill has got to be full of Dark Magic and illegal to boot.
- Mimblus Mimbletonia will be important. Sometime.

Chapter 14 - Percy and Padfoot

- Harry Potter - The Boy Who Knows How to Be Discreet When He Wants To Be. :)
- Signature for Percy! (I told you, it's about the little things.)
- While Percy is without a doubt possibly one of the biggest gits ever, the letter is something else. "Lucky to escape the stigma"? Please. XD If he wrote Ron, maybe he's not completely lost. I feel like I'm grabbing at straws here, but I have to believe.
- "You're less like your father than I thought… The risk would've been what made it fun for James." That was really low of Sirius.

Chapter 15 - The Hogwarts Inquisitor

- Lucius was born in 1954.
- Trelawney's been teaching 16 years, as long as Harry and his year have been alive.
- McGonagall has been teaching since 1956.
- Hermione finally said Voldemort. I'm so proud of her. :D
- There's more to Professor Grubbly-Plank than meets the eye.

Chapter 16 - In the Hog's Head

- I think the bartender is Aberforth -- more or less had the same description as Dumbledore, looked familiar to Harry, and the room smelled like goats.
- I notice that I wrote in the margin, "Wow… Dumbledore's Army…" after all the people were named. XD
- I noted that I thought either Ernie MacMillan or Zacharias Smith would be the one to squeal.
- Vanishing Transfiguration will also be important at some point -- see Mimblue Mimbletonia.

Chapter 17 - Educational Degree Number Twenty-Four

- Poor Hedwig. Give a whole new meaning to the phrase, "don't kill the messenger". :(
- Oh I was so proud when Neville started to attack Malfoy for the flippant comment about the St. Mungo's mental ward, even if no one but Harry understood it.
- Snape's been teaching four years -- two less than Trelawney, I think he would have been teaching at Hogwarts two months before the Potters were killed on Halloween, if my understanding is correct.
- The Divination class in this was the first time we've seen anything but "mistiness" from Trelawney.
- Who was the DADA teacher when Snape began teaching?
- Does Mundungus LIKE dressing up as a witch? Something to watch for.
- SecretAgent!Molly!

Chapter 18 - Dumbledore's Army

- The picture cracks me up. :D At least his ears will be nice and warm.
- Starting on page 383 (US edition), I have to wonder if someone was drugging Sirius (or if he's bi-polar, like I mentioned).
- That Room of Requirement kicks ass. Bad NC-17 fic, coming to a fanfic archive near you…
- I wonder what story Winky would tell if she would.

Chapter 19 - The Lion and the Serpent

- I'm pleased to hear how members of DA are improving!
- That fake Galleon idea? Genius. Pure genius.
- Poor Ron. :( King of Slytherin = Not Good.
- The ban? NOOOOOO!!!!
- Er, at least Hagrid's back?

Chapter 20 - Hagrid's Tale

- I guess I lied. I felt like this chapter slowed down.
- Hermione gasps, and Fang is sniffing loudly at Umbridges hem. This is the second time there is a coincidence of that sort under the Invisibility Cloak.

Chapter 21 - The Eye of the Snake

- Ron leaning outside the window and getting a face full of snow is a bit reminiscent of Percy sticking his head out of his bedroom window at the Burrow in the beginning of the fourth book.
- Anyone else shocked at Seeker!Ginny?
- Ah, the famous mistletoe! That was well done.
- I don't have many notes for this one other than, "AH! NO! NOT MR. WEASLEY!"

Chapter 22 - St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries

- The speed at which this chapter moved was phenomenal. It was just action-packed.
- What was the deal with the silver snakes and "But in essence divided?"
- Hehehe the sleeping Phineas.
- When Molly said Arthur would be okay? I. Fucking. Sobbed with relief.
- I wish someone besides Mrs. Weasley would show Harry lots of affection (but with a mother like Mrs. Black, I don't think Sirius had a lot of practice). Not that claps on the back aren't great, but.

Chapter 23 - Christmas on the Closed Ward

- Be patient, Phineas. Harry's a little slow on the uptake sometimes.
- Go Ginny. Way to bring Harry down a peg or two when the boy needs it.
- I may be a Percy fan, but sending back the Weasley sweater is the ultimate dis.
- Mr. Weasley and his stitches. XD Molly wasn't so happy…
- Poor Neville, being caught and then his Gran acting the way she did.

Chapter 24 - Occlumency

- Snape and Sirius both have issues. Durr.
- "Yes, Molly dear." XD My loff for this man knows no bounds.
- I <3 Snape.
- Good for Voldemort = bad for us.

Chapter 25 - The Beetle at Bay

- Well, the breakout from Azkaban finally came.
- Being strangled in a hospital bed by a Devil's Snare. How morbid.
- Wow. That date was a complete disaster.
- Hagrid and Harry in the same boat. What, the H.M.S. Dissed and Dismissed?
- Hermione is a smart young woman.

Chapter 26 - Seen and Unforeseen

- <3 Hermione giving Harry advice. She was pretty on target, too.
- …Does McGonagall play the bagpipes?
- The Quibbler article! How I love thee!
- I admit, Snape's memories aren't the safest place to be, but I want more.
- Snape almost praised Harry.
- This is where I felt bad for Trelawney. :(
- You. Can't. Lie. To. Snape.

Chapter 27 - The Centaur and the Sneak

- Poor Firenze. :(
- I kept telling Harry not to lose faith in Dumbledore in his office. Because Dumbledore is good.
- Page 615? What a place to put a page turn.
- I love the loyalty McGonagall showed.
- You have to admit, Dumbledore does have style.
- Patronuses? Patroni? Patronii?

Chapter 28 - Snape's Worst Memory

- Oswald? (Associated with the general meaning "divine power".)
- Just like the twins to do things with a "bang". The fireworks were a stroke of brilliance.
- I told Harry not to touch the Pensieve, I really did… ::shakes head::
- I enjoyed the physical description of James. He's better in my head now.
- He was, however, a jerk to Snape. He must have gotten better at some point, as Sirius says that he's not proud of that memory, and I'm sure that James would say much the same if were alive.
- Harry should not have entered the Pensieve. OTOH, Snape probably shouldn't've thrown a jar of dead cockroaches in retaliation, and he shouldn't have stopped the Occlumency lessons, because it was pretty clear that Dumbledore wanted that done.
- He was always "Wormtail". Never Peter.

Chapter 29 - Career Advice

- Talking to Sirius through Umbridge's fire? Uh, I'm with Hermione on this one.
- I love it when Harry was reminded of Mrs. Weasley "appealing to her husband during Harry's first dinner at Grimmauld Place" by Hermione asking Ron for an opinion. XD
- A new Minister of Magic by the time Harry is ready to be an auror? Gods, we can only hope.
- McGonagall rocks my socks. Seriously.
- Sirius. Remus. STOP REMINISCING. NO TIME! NO TIME!
- George and Fred!!!!! <333!!! I loved how Fred told Peeves to give her hell, and he saluted. Cracked me up.

Chapter 30 - Grawp

- "It unscrews the other way." Dear lord. XD
- Roger is a chaser. I so happy. ::dance::
- Hermy. X'D
- GO LIONS!

Chapter 31 - O.W.L.s

- Heh. Harry showed her on that DADA exam!
- That would've been… horrible to witness during an exam… :(
- At this point I was convinced Voldemort had Sirius.

Chapter 32 - Out of the Fire

- Interesting chapter title. Ironic, Harry being pulled out of the fire and yet at the same time being pushed out of the frying pan and into the fire.
- I'm so glad Hermione mentioned Harry's hero complex. That moment might not have been the best time to do it, but still. Glad it came up.
- Kreacher = not nice.
- Again, Harry should have more faith in Snape.
- Umbridge = scary psycho bitch. I was just waiting for Hermione to outsmart that cow.

Chapter 33 - Fight and Flight

- "Goodness, he remembered!" XD
- Centaurs = Not happy.

Chapter 34 - The Department of Mysteries

- The badge cracks me up. I don't think the Death Eaters went through the visitor's entrance, but I wonder what the badges would say. "Bellatrix Lestrange, Do-Gooder Ass-kicking"? "Lucius Malfoy, Death Eating"?

Chapter 35 - Beyond the Veil

- It was at this point I made the connection of the initials to Trelawney and Dumbledore.
- I love how the fight came to a momentary stand still when Ron Accio'd the brain.
- Waaaah Sirius!

Chapter 36 - The Only One He Ever Feared

- I had to read this chapter twice to fully grasp it. (Because I was in shock from Sirius DYING.)
- Dumbledore calling Voldemort Tom is just so… amazing. I don't know why he does it. (To humanize him? Enforce the fact that he's not scared?)
- Voldemort/Bellatrix. Nice little rowboat. :)
- Finally. I try to think that the good thing coming of Sirius's death is that now the Ministry acknowledges Voldemort's return. Sirius would think it was worth it.
- What was "the lie the fountain told"? :\

Chapter 37 - The Lost Prophecy

- I liked the portraits talking to Harry.
- I think Dumbledore telling Harry he's not half as angry as he should be is a refreshing (and sobering) change for Harry.
- So many questions, answered. But I still don't think that we're getting the entire story from Dumbledore. Not that I don't trust him, but there's a nagging doubt in my head.

Chapter 38 - The Second War Begins

- Yayee for Professor McGonagall and her tartan carpetbag!
- :( If I were Harry, I would've been mad when I found that mirror, too.
- Nick's implication of why people become ghosts make sense.
- What does Luna know about the veil in the Department of Mysteries?
- It cracks me up that they put Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle into the luggage rack. XD
- Once again, Moody manages to kick ass verbally.
- What if Aunt Petunia "whimpered piteously" for another reason?
- I hope he DOES get out of there, soon.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

There is not one thing you wrote there that I do not agree with!

Wonder how long it'll be before someone creates a Neville/Mimblus Mimbletonia ship..?

Waah. Neville/Mumblus Mimbletonia is the new Sprout/Mandrake.

Mark Evans? Any relation to Lily Evans? ;) (Refer to rule #3.)

I don't think so--he'd be related to Petunia, as well, and I'm pretty sure Dudley and Harry'd know if he was related, and it'd come up.

I think everyone figured Arabella to be a witch. Never a squib! That was a great twist, though. Don’t mess with her though, she’s lethal with that bag of cat food!

I have mad love for her! I hope she invoites Harry over more this summer get him out of the house a bit.

Petunia, on the other hand, floored me. She knew what Azkaban was, she knew what a Howler was, and she knew what Lord Voldemort’s return could mean.

Oh, yes. I have a feeling Petunia might be ... different, this summer. I hope we get a bit more history on the Evans sisters, too.

The family rift… :( That row sounded bad. Like, bad.

I am a very evil person, for I did a smug little dance at that. Ha!

It makes sense that Pureblood families are interrelated. I mean, European royalty has been doing the same thing for much longer than that.

Fanon confirmed! :D Though, yes, it does make a lot of sense, for those exact reasons, so it was to be expected.

Jealous!Harry is even less becoming than Jealous!Ron.

But he's a lot more human now than in the previous books. I actually kind of sort of liked Harry in this one.

Why were Ron and Hermione wearing crowns in Harry's dream?

Dude, I so didn't pay attention to that. Yay for more Ron/Hermione vibes!

Have a biscuit. XD

Oh, good, I wasn't the only one who giggled at that.

"You're less like your father than I thought… The risk would've been what made it fun for James." That was really low of Sirius.

I think Molly's right, Sirius was forgetting that Harry isn't James. not that that's not understandable, after all that time in Azkaban, but ... see, I'm sort of mean, but I hope he is actually dead, because I think the poor man suffered enough without having to come back from the dead. He deserves peace.

There's more to Professor Grubbly-Plank than meets the eye.

I loved her little "I'm clueless" act to Umbridge. In fact, I adored all the teachers in this book, especially Flitwick and McGonnagal.

That Room of Requirement kicks ass. Bad NC-17 fic, coming to a fanfic archive near you…

Ahahahahahaha! Oh, man, this is the "convenient empty classroom" fanon made EASY!
What was the deal with the silver snakes and "But in essence divided?"

Can't remember what this is, but I think it might've been in reference to the Sorting Hat Song, and the subsequent COMPLETELY IGNORING OF THE CALL OF INTER-HOUSE UNITY BY RON AND HARRY grrr seethe. Don't mind me, pet peeve.

Be patient, Phineas. Harry's a little slow on the uptake sometimes.

And that would be the understatement of the year.
the H.M.S. Dissed and Dismissed

Okay, THANK YOU SO MUCH for that, I just laughed so loud I disturbed elfie.

Patronuses? Patroni? Patronii?

Patroni, if you're treating it as a proper Latin word.

I love it when Harry was reminded of Mrs. Weasley "appealing to her husband during Harry's first dinner at Grimmauld Place" by Hermione asking Ron for an opinion. XD

THEY ARE SO MFEO!

George and Fred!!!!! <333!!! I loved how Fred told Peeves to give her hell, and he saluted. Cracked me up.

I just feel bad for poor Lee being stuck at school without his best friends, now. :(

Dumbledore calling Voldemort Tom is just so… amazing. I don't know why he does it. (To humanize him? Enforce the fact that he's not scared?)

I got the impression it was to show him that a) he knew that Tom/Voldemort is one of the people he hates the most (mudbloods and halfbloods), and b) to make it clear that Dumbledore still remembers Tom as a student. It's difficult to be all bad-ass in front of people who knew you as an ickle firstie.

It cracks me up that they put Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle into the luggage rack. XD

I wasn't too much, actually. The whole implication seemed to be that it's all right to hurt people as long as you think they're obnoxious gits, which is what Harry was disgusted with James for. :/

The last thing: I see what you mean about that, but James was picking on Severus for no reason in particular- just because Severus was there to be picked upon, and that he (James or Sirius?) was bored.

Anyway, if I remember correctly (can't reference as sis has book in Germany), Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle had it coming to 'em.

To be fair, that is true, and I don't deny that Draco's a git, but ... I don't know, the way they all team up on them, and especially the way they seem amlost gleeful about it, justified, because using hexes on people is absolutely justified if you think you're Good and they're Evil, bothers me. Another example of this would be them leading the Umbridge woman into the forest, knowing full well she may very much get killed in there, or the not caring about Montague being almost catatonic as a result of what the twins did.

Not the same, I agree, but it still bothers me.

Yeah, the zealous killing of anyone you dislike is never a good thing.

Still, considering that Draco & Co. gang up on Harry & Co. every chance they get, you can't expect H&Co to be complete and utter sweet dipwads when they get the chance to do the reverse, do you?

And if you hate someone enough ... hey, no one's perfect.

(Actually the people who are way too morally good like that in stories really bother me. Stupid protagonists.)

Oh, I don't think they're complete dipwads, just that I was hoping that after the bit about James and Snape, Harry'd think a bit about the whole thing. I think it's mostly the anti-Slytherin bias that sort of bugs me. I mean, the Hat calls for inter-house unity, and Ron and Harry just dismiss it, though Hermione did seem open to the possibility.

I'm still sort of hoping the Slytherins (typo: Slutherins--errrr ...) will be revealed to be more than just Standard Antagonists, but I'm starting to accept that probably, Snape will remain the only "grey" Slytherin, despite Remus's claims that "The world isn't divided into good people and Death Eaters." Maybein a next book we'll see more examples of how being a complete git doesn't necessarily make one evil, but I'm not holding much hope anymore. :/

Ah! Good point. I think Harry and Ron are just sort of blinded by the whole Draco thing, so they dismiss everyone in Slytherin...

It's true, there is sort of an odd thing that if you're in a certain family then you're evil and that's that. There's all this stuff about how evil is a choice, and then ... well. I'm actually really glad Rowling added in the bit about Sirius being from a complete and utter creepy family, yet he wound up fine.
I keep thinking Draco should have a little sister who is completely repulsed by her family's ways etc etc and who winds up in Hufflepuff. No such luck, though. XP

Ah! Good point. I think Harry and Ron are just sort of blinded by the whole Draco thing, so they dismiss everyone in Slytherin...

Exactly. Well, in Ron's case, I think he'd have hated Draco no matter what, because he was fairly anti-Slytherin before he even met Draco.

There's all this stuff about how evil is a choice, and then ... well. I'm actually really glad Rowling added in the bit about Sirius being from a complete and utter creepy family, yet he wound up fine. I keep thinking Draco should have a little sister who is completely repulsed by her family's ways etc etc and who winds up in Hufflepuff. No such luck, though. XP

Dude, you just described my Mary Sue. =D But, yes, and that's the annoying thing--JKR keeps saying (and illustrating, eg Snape, Sirius, and Remus saying "The world is not divided into good people and DEs", that everyone has a choice, and yet all Draco seems to be is someone who is going to be a DE because his father was. Sigh. Blah. I don't want him to turn "good", per se, I juust want him to actually make a choice, be it to join Voldie or Harry and co.

(I think too much about the whole destiny vs choice thing. Have a whole semi-epic bunny, too.)

Have a whole semi-epic bunny, too.

Among others. :D

<g> Yes. I also have a bunch of Lee-centric bunnies, predictably enough.

and yet all Draco seems to be is someone who is going to be a DE because his father was.

Evil runs in families. XD But hasn't he already made a choice, then? I mean, he thinks Voldemort is the coolest thing since coconut cream pie already, and he hates Harry, so.

I don't want him to turn "good", per se

True, that would be too much of a change. His entire character is the "I'm a petty thug" sort, so if he suddenly went overwhelmingly good that would suck.

But hasn't he already made a choice, then? I mean, he thinks Voldemort is the coolest thing since coconut cream pie already, and he hates Harry, so.

Sadly, that's the impression I'm getting, yes, but. We've not actually seen him make that choice, he's always seemed to have wanted to become a Death Eater, because that's what his dad is. I mean, he doesn't seem to realise at all what being a Death Eater is about, the blood and gore and whatnot it involves (not to mention the bowing and scraping to Lord Thingie), and I don't think he's going to be all that pleased when he finds out.

True, that would be too much of a change. His entire character is the "I'm a petty thug" sort, so if he suddenly went overwhelmingly good that would suck.

Exactly. I mean, as much as Standard Antagonist Draco annoys me, I can't deny that if I had a penny for every time I've wanted to smack the boy, I'd have enough money to buy another copy of OotP.

I'd agree that Draco is going to be a Voldemoort-follower, but not just because his father was--except in the sense that Lucius, the cold, nasty, selfish, power-hungry man is a father too, and a lousy one at that.

In my mind, to follow his father's attitudes and connections is the *only* way this kid can get anything approaching affection (and at best that's a cold, sly praise) from his parents. I'm not at all surprised he's a bullying, snide twerp: he's never gotten (that I've seen) any love or kindness from his parents, any encouragement to be anything but a manipulative jerk, and lots of encouragement to be horrible. Evil runs in families because the kids are taught that; I don't believe evil's an inherent character flaw/that JKR's trying to suggest it is.

Don't get me wrong: Draco's plenty old enough now and around interesting, honorable people, that he *could* start to change. But I don't think he will, because the emotional rewards are too small for him personally, and too alien. On his own head be his choices.

Hey, how on earth did I miss this comment before?

Don't get me wrong: Draco's plenty old enough now and around interesting, honorable people, that he *could* start to change. But I don't think he will, because the emotional rewards are too small for him personally, and too alien. On his own head be his choices.

Plus, these interesting, honorable people have almost all already judged him because of his father, or his House, or both, so why would he think of them as people to change for?

Maybe in a next book we'll see more examples of how being a complete git doesn't necessarily make one evil, but I'm not holding much hope anymore. :/

On the other, the series so far has tended toward darker and darker and more and more subtle and more and more irony. So I don't think this is an unfounded hope to have.

Does anyone really believe the series'll end badly? Do the characters *really* think that's possible? Can that be written believeably/sympathetically while the readers themselves are convinced otherwise? Hm.

I don't think it's completely unfunded, but ... I mean, there's only two books left, and I think that if JKR makes Draco change like that after five books of him beig nothing but a typical petty bully, it's going to come off as a bit ... abrupt. On the other hand, at the end of book three, Percy was still basically a good boy, if a big git. In book four, one might say he's sliding towards badness, but it's just as likely he's just misguided. In book five, my "Percy will stick to the rules no matter what, even if the rules are clearly wrong and he is thus very suspectible to becoming a pawn to Voldie" theory got proven right. So it could be that by the end of book seven Draco will have realised that grovelling for Voldemort isn't really his thing (perhaps his father being in jail could be a wake-up call), but he can just as easily become even more determined to become a high-ranking Death Eater.

The main thing, though, about hope, is that unfounded or not, I've spent the last 3-4 years being ridiculed with varying degrees of subtlety for thinking Draco could possibly even theoretically grow up to be more than just a petty bully, and um. I've grown a bit paranoid (and bitter) about the whole subject.

I've spent the last 3-4 years being ridiculed with varying degrees of subtlety for thinking Draco could possibly even theoretically grow up to be more than just a petty bully, and um. I've grown a bit paranoid (and bitter) about the whole subject.

Dang! Well, if it's at all helpful, I think Draco *could* grow up to be more than a sycophantic, bullying nit. I don't know that he WILL (let alone in the 2 short years available in school), but I think he has the intelligence to do so. I still think of Draco as sort of developmentally stuck...but we're also seeing him through Harry's very biased, extremely clueless, can't-see-subtley-when-it-hits-him-with-a-stick eyes... Hm.

I don't see Draco siding against Voldemort, no, but I can imagine him honing his ability to be subtle (a knife to Crabbe & Goyle as clubs). He slurks up to those in power, because that's what he's been taught, and then turns around and mimics what he sees as power...

I supposed I'm babbling. Oh well.

Dang!

Heh, yeah, try it from this side. <g>

but we're also seeing him through Harry's very biased, extremely clueless, can't-see-subtley-when-it-hits-him-with-a-stick eyes... Hm.

That was always one of my main points in the whole Draco thing. (I've blathered about this before, here.)

(And maybe we should take this discussion out of Liz's LJ? Feel free to e-mail me or something.)

It's all right, I'm having fun watching. ::voyeurs::

You just want us to do all the thinking for you.

The less thinking I have to do, the better.

Better for you, or for us?

For me, darling. ::points to most recent journal entry::

but we're also seeing him through Harry's very biased, extremely clueless, can't-see-subtley-when-it-hits-him-with-a-stick eyes... Hm.

And that's the thing, Harry tends to see things as very, very black and white, no shades of grey at all. That was one of the themes in this book, that "the world isn't made up of good people and Death Eaters."

Plus, I also always really hated it when people would just condemn Draco as a Death-Eater-to-be, from very early on. He's a kid. It really disturbs me that people will judge a person by who he is at fourteen. I mean, yes, he is a git, and I'm not saying he's just "misunderstood" (ah, JustMisunderstood!Draco, the bane of my fannish existence ... don't get me started), but is it such a foreign concept that people could change? Argh. (Sorry, ranting at you here, but I've a lot of bottled up frustration. Have a cookie.)

I don't see Draco siding against Voldemort, no,

I'm not too sure about that. The thing is, I'm not sure Draco could handle all the grovelling, the bowing, the "Yes, my master" (heh, mixing fandoms a bit, here). Draco wasn't raised to kneel and grovel, and I'm not sure he'd put up with it for any reason. I'm sure Lucius wasn't raised to kneel, either, I'm sure, but Lucius has a certain cunning that Draco lacks.

As you said, Draco sucks up to the people in charge, but he's not, I don't think, very subtle about it, and ends up being used by them (most noteably, Rita and ~~Umbitch~~ Umbridge.) Which might be a good character trait for a Minion of Evil, but when you're supposed to be part of the "elite", and especially when your heir apparent to the Dark Lord's right hand man ...

I really don't know anymore, to be honest. (Yet that didn't stop me from blathering on about it, it seems. Whoops.)

*hearts you*
These are great, Liz. :)

I wish someone besides Mrs. Weasley would show Harry lots of affection (but with a mother like Mrs. Black, I don't think Sirius had a lot of practice). Not that claps on the back aren't great, but.

So do I, and that is a very good point about Sirius. *ponders it*

Finally. I try to think that the good thing coming of Sirius's death is that now the Ministry acknowledges Voldemort's return. Sirius would think it was worth it.

The sad thing is, Sirius didn't have to die to prove that correct. Voldermort still turned up, and I don't think the death of a convicted mass murderer would carry much weight with the Ministry. His name is still not cleared. *sighs*

It's not so much what the death would mean to the Ministry, I suppose it would go towards personal peace... if that made any sense...

Mark Evans? Any relation to Lily Evans?
I would say no, except that I believe this is the book where we specifically learn Lily's last name. And I always had the impression Harry didn't actually know what his mother's maiden name was. When he sees James writing L.E. on his paper, he wonders who that refers to. If I saw a younger version of my dad writing my mom's initials, I'd know damn well what they stood for.

Jealous!Harry is even less becoming than Jealous!Ron.
Oh, yes. When he was thinking that he should be the prefect, I wanted to smack him.

Why were Ron and Hermione wearing crowns in Harry's dream?
They're both prefects, and I suspect they're going to be Head Boy and Head Girl. Oh, look. They're pulling a James/Lily.

"You're less like your father than I thought… The risk would've been what made it fun for James." That was really low of Sirius.
It also confirms what Molly's been saying, I think. Sirius doesn't really know what to treat Harry as -- little brother, son, or incarnation of his best friend.

I think the bartender is Aberforth -- more or less had the same description as Dumbledore, looked familiar to Harry, and the room smelled like goats.
Oh, wow. I never even thought of this, but I think you might be right.

What was "the lie the fountain told"?
Probably the idea that it actually represents the way the wizarding world works, and the goblins and centaurs and house elves are all shiny and happy. I wanted to smash that fountain as soon as I saw it.

Very awesome job. I loved this.

Probably the idea that it actually represents the way the wizarding world works, and the goblins and centaurs and house elves are all shiny and happy. I wanted to smash that fountain as soon as I saw it.

Ah, I see. That makes sense.

- Hagrid and Harry in the same boat. What, the H.M.S. Dissed and Dismissed?

ahahahahahaha.

- Patronuses? Patroni? Patronii?

Patroni. "-us" turns to an "i," like "octopus" and "octopi."

Thank you. That was quite a good read.

Pluralizing words like that always screws me up. 'Patronus' becomes 'patroni', 'radius' becomes 'radii' (that looked like I needed spell check in my algebra notes, oy vey...).

Well, "radius" is "radii" because there's already an "i" there. If it were "radus," it would be "radi."

Which sounds like something Bill and/or Ted would say.

Latin dictionaries reveal all:

patronus, -i m patron, protector; (law) avdocate, counsel.

Thus patronus is a 2nd declension noun and is declined as such:

Singluar
========
Nominative: patronus
Genitive:   patroni
Dative:     patrono
Accusative: patronum
Ablative:   patrono

Plural
======
Nominative: patroni
Genitive:   patronorum
Dative:     patronis
Accusative: patronos
Ablative:   patronis

This is why it takes me so long to do my translation assignments---every time I have to look up something I spot an HP word on the same page... ah, well.

This concludes this edition of Latin Geek Butting In For No Apparent Reason.

t was noted by every single member of my family thus far having read the book (my uncle, my mother, my sister, and my brother) that I remind them of Luna.

Everyone I know who has read this and knew me when I was 11-19 (well, and recently) says I *am* Hermione. (I wonder if they still think so with this book? And, thanks to so many reviews, I'm beginning to understand *why* so few people liked me back then...and why those that did, still do. So very very grateful!)

I don't think the Death Eaters went through the visitor's entrance, but I wonder what the badges would say. "Bellatrix Lestrange, Do-Gooder Ass-kicking"? "Lucius Malfoy, Death Eating"?

Came to your journal via

flourish's list of essays, and found this so amusing I just *had* to illustrate it:

Hope you don't mind!

I got here through her *chucks a thumb at Twilight*.

Love the review, have a few more pieces of information for you.

- Bill/Fleur. Not only am I squeeing, I am laughing in amusement.

I'm merely chuckling, but I do note that Rowling foreshadowed this--sort of--in Goblet.

Re "Ignatius": St. Ignatius Loyola founded the Jesuits. I don't know why, but I remember picking that up the first time I read it...

- Wow. That date was a complete disaster.

Yeah, I've had dates like that. (Not with YT, Twilight, so you don't have to go ballistic)

- George and Fred!!!!! <333!!! I loved how Fred told Peeves to give her hell, and he saluted. Cracked me up.

Join the club. I recall laughing throughout the next part of that book. "It unscrews the other way" indeed.

- Dumbledore calling Voldemort Tom is just so… amazing. I don't know why he does it. (To humanize him? Enforce the fact that he's not scared?)

Recall what he says back in Stone about names...

"Call him Voldemort, Harry. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself."

Ignoring the fact that Voldemort isn't strictly speaking his proper name, this is an odd twist on the traditional "names have power" system--true names, here, have more power in their absence than the traditional usage of names: "In magical terms, it'd be kind of like giving somebody your credit cards-with no way to cancel them." (Spider Robinson's line).

So, in person, Dumbledore would drop him back further, to the kid he was when they first met.

Thanks again for the entertaining review, and I'll remember the Rules of Constant Vigilance.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

OotP Review Part Two

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Draco--fated to be Death Eater?

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gitness --> evil?

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Since Liz said she doesn't mind ...

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