annundriel (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
annundriel) wrote2005-09-05 11:09 pm
annundriel) wrote2005-09-05 11:09 pm
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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
So, I finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
Huh.
I'm going to try to write about this in an orderly thoughtful manner. It may not work out though. I did take notes while reading though, because, of course, I am a major dork. I am also an English major. Combine the two and I just can't help myself!
Spoilery Notes & Minor Thoughts
-- "The Other Minister" -- My first thought? "omg, she's gonna kill Tony Blair!" But then she didn't. This chapter, in a lot of ways, exhibits exactly why I was feeling a little, shall we say, iffy? about Rowling and Harry Potter. There's a lot of exposition. There's a lot of explanation. There's a lot of...sitting around and talking. When I started reading it, I turned to Mom and said that if this were a movie or a television show, I couldn't see it happening as it was laid out. Audiences get bored with sitting around and talking. So, for me, some of the exposition was heavy handed. I mean, yeah, good way to get your readers caught up with what's going on, but also? A tad boring. ::shrug::
-- "Spinner's End" -- Oh, the beginning of the end. [In hindsight? Very misleading chapter. At least to me.]
-- "Will and Won't" -- Much love for Dumbledore at the Dursley's.
-- "Horace Slughorn" -- Found the Inferi thing a little...odd. I mean, reanimating corpses is kind of extreme. And that was my first reaction, but then I remembered what I was reading and tried to shrug it off. Did think it was funny that something that extreme/bad hadn't been mentioned before.
Slughorn's...okay. ::shrug:: Amusing and kind of annoying. Was interested to find out that he is a Slytherin. About time we saw someone "good" come out of that house. There certainly haven't been enough major dark wizards in the past to say that *everyone* in Slytherin is evil.
I'm still wondering about the prophecy from the fifth book. "Neither can live while the other survives..." It could imply three people, Voldemort, Harry, and Neville. "Neither" being two and "other" being one that is not of the two. Mostly, I think Neville needs to be involved. You shouldn't mention information like that unless it means something.
-- "An Excess of Phlegm" -- Fleur/Bill. Bleh. Very fanfiction-y.
-- "Draco's Detour" --"WHY ARE YOU WORRYING ABOUT
YOU-KNOW-WHO?
YOU SHOULD BE WORRYING ABOUT
U-NO-POO --
THE CONSTIPATION SENSATION
THAT'S GRIPPING THE NATION!"
Bwah!
Hermione's quite clever, isn't she?
-- "The Slug Club" -- Reply D.A.: "It was like having friends." Oh, Luna. :(
What *would* have happened if Voldemort had chosen Neville instead of Harry? And why did he choose Harry?
On page 143 the great question of Blaise Zabini's gender is finally answered! It's a boy!
Draco's still an ass. But he seems deeper now. (My mind just went to a naughty place. ::blush::)
-- "Snape Victorious" -- Snape! Harry does a whole lot of assuming. That's going to bite him in the ass in the future, his prejudices and his assumptions.
-- "The Half-Blood Prince" -- "...be proud of the grandson she's got..." I love McGonagall and adore Neville. I really do.
I *so* want to know what else Hermione smelled in the Amortentia. Like, now. Especially after learning the meaning behind what Harry smelled. ;)
If there has to be a romance for Harry, I want it to be with Ginny. And how glad am I that she developed into a personality! Also, it's nice to see references to her ordeal with Riddle. Continuity, yea!
-- "The House of Gaunt" -- Marvolo! Tom! Merope! Neat. In a terrible way, but still, neat. And good to finally know about.
[Just now Googled the name Merope. Came up with this: ...Merope...is shamed for eternity for having an affair with a mortal. There's also some interesting stuff here at Mugglenet.]
Dumbledore's making me a bit uncomfortable with his secrets and things. And now at the end of this chapter with his smiling and the ring, and then especially with the line, Harry hesitated. Dumbledore was smiling. I mean, that's a little strange, right?
-- "Hermione's Helping Hand" -- Page 227 - Hints of Ron/Hermione! EEE!! :)
Page 233 - This is where I could see Ron turing to "the dark side." Being ignored because he's not "special."
-- "Silver and Opals" -- To really cover your tracks while doing evil, could you use the Imperious curse on someone and in turn make thme use it on someone else?
-- "The Secret Riddle" -- I'm not sure how I feel about the Riddle being inherently evil, just another bad egg. I like people to be pushed one way or another. Arguably, Riddle was pushed. But he was also always a bully. But was he a bully because he was pushed into it by feeling unwanted, or was he a bully because that's just the way he was born? (Nature vs. Nurture.)
-- "Felix Felicis" -- "No, I wouldn't," said Ron, in a very quiet voice. EEE!! :)
[I have no notes now until page 332. What happened?]
-- "The Unbreakable Vow" -- In hindsight, it's all crappy. :(
-- "A Very Frosty Christmas" -- Aw, Lupin. Who's not really involved with the whole James/Sirius/Severus thing. Seems to me like Harry's forgotten that Lupin knew his father and lost Sirius, too. In fact, he lost him twice. First time being when he thought he'd lost all three of his friends when everyone thought that Sirius was a murderer.
Harry can really hold a grudge.
Page 335 - *Finally* we learn how Lupin became a werewolf. Lots of back-story being learned in this book.
-- "A Sluggish Memory" -- Why was Dumbledore sent to talk to Riddle? Wasn't he just a one of the professors?
-- "Birthday Surprises" -- OMG! Romilda got Ron with Harry's Chocolate Cauldrons! Whoops.
This chapter is not good for Ron fans. Scare the hell out of us, why don't you? GEEZ.
-- "Elf Tails" -- Slughorn was apparently planning on giving the mead to Dumbledore. Maybe the poison was meant for him? [In hindsight? I knew it!] Glad that Ginny brought it up as a possibility.
JKR sure does like her ellipses. Nice to see she's backed off the use of ALL CAPS.
-- "Lord Voldemort's Request" -- *Why* is Dumbledore sharing these memories with Harry? Why does he want his opinion? [After getting to the end, is it possible that Dumbledore had a feeling about what was coming? A feeling that he wasn't going to make it and someone would have to know what to do should he be killed.]
Page 443 - "Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns lies." What is this, Star Wars?
Why are they called Death Eaters? Where'd they get the name?
-- "The Unknowable Room" -- Page 449. Ron/Hermione. EEE!! Love! :)
-- "After the Burial" -- That Felix Felicis sure is handy.
-- "Horcruxes" -- Dumbledore's take on the prophecy...Interesting. The only reason Harry's part of it is because Voldemort made him part of it. And the only reason the prophecy is true, is because Voldemort chose to listen to it.
-- "Sectumsempra" -- For some reason I'm suddenly developing slash vision with Draco and Harry. I'm, um, not sure how I feel about that.
Harry! It is a seriously *bad* idea to go around using spells marked "for enemies" when you don't know *exactly* what they will do. But then it seems as though Harry would never go so far as assuming that something he trusted would hurt someone so badly. [Like Dumbledore and Snape? Oh, and the person Harry was trusting all along *was* Snape. Interesting.]
Page 534 - Harry/Ginny. Because Ron's cool like that. :) Also? OMG. EEE!! :) It's no longer subtext; it is text!
-- "The Seer Overheard" -- Harry needs to trust that Dumbledore has his reasons for trusting Snape. And it sounds like serious, real reasons. Wonder what they are? [Will we ever know? Because I don't think the reasons Harry believes - Snape feeling bad about getting the Potters killed - is the reason.]
-- "The Cave" -- Okay, this whole sequence? With the hidden door and the lake that you're not supposed to touch and the dead bodies floating in the water? VERY Lord of the Rings. Or was that just me?
Page 566 - "It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more." LOVE that quote. Because I completely agree. This is why I believe I'm afraid of water where I can't see the bottom. Or water that things live in. Because I don't know.
Page 578 - "I am with you." Oh, god. ::tear::
-- "The Lightning-Struck Tower" -- Malfoy's been after Dumbledore the whole time. *That's* who they were talking about the entire time.
And now we get the traditional "get all the info/the plan from the baddie" scene. (Is Dumbledore using magic on him to make him talk though? I wouldn't be entirely surprised.)
SNAPE! Traitor! I hope that this is because of the unbreakable vow and not because he really is on Voldemort's side and a bad guy.
I think the fact that it was Snape that killed him makes it worse. ::sob:: There's also the part where Dumbledore pleaded. ::sob:: [More thoughts below.]
-- "Flight of the Prince" -- Boy, Snape's conflicted.
I KNEW IT WAS SNAPE!!
Snape did stop the guy from killing Harry. I'm holding out hope here.
Who is R. A. B.?
-- "The Phoenix Lament" -- I thought Fleur was going to dump Bill. Really nice to see her showing depth and then finally bonding with Mrs. Weasley.
OMG. Tonks/Lupin! LOVE!
Go McGonagall with the headmistress position. She deserves it, but not under these circumstances.
Harry is going to dump Ginny because it is TOO DANGEROUS FOR HER TO BE WITH HIM. Dumb, Harry.
-- "The White Tomb" -- Mostly this chapter was just squees and lots and lots of tears. Was interesting about the possible phoenix though.
*****
Thoughts
In Joseph Malozzi's blog (See the incredible way in which I connect everything to Stargate?), he talks about his wife's reaction to the pacing of the book. "As to why my wife disliked it so much - according to her, the books traditionally rely on heavy exposition in their final chapters, but in the case of Half Blood Prince, almost the entire book was exposition. All of the action either happened in the past (ie. the pensieve) or elsewhere (the burgeoning war with Voldemart's forces). In previous books, elements introduced early in the story end up figuring into the story's denouement. In the case of the last book, magical elements are introduced in the denouement to explain some of the seemingly inexplicable goings-on. Finally, she felt that the book felt like a stage-weight in preparation for the next and final installment."
I didn't dislike the book, but I know exactly what she means about the pacing. I was just now talking to Natasha, and she said that it was "a calming read" until the last few chapters. Very interesting way to work the book.
I think that the fact that much of the book's action is in memories or off-stage is part of the reason why I found book six so easy to put down and walk away from. It's a good book. Not the best book, but still a good read, but it didn't have the same urgency to it. Until those last few chapters where the action enters the present and moves to the forefront.
*
Dumbledore and Snape. Maybe I'm blinded by my love of Snape's very grey-area character, but I *really* hope that there's more to his murder of Dumbledore than just a betrayal of Dumbledore's trust. There is nothing to say anywhere that he did it because he's evil. All we know is that he did it. And, in a nice divergence from the generally Harry POV focus, we get to see Snape make the unbreakable vow with Narcissa that he will carry out the task Draco's been assigned if Draco cannot do it.
Looking back at the scene, I wonder if it's possible that Dumbledore was expecting this to happen? Perhaps he wanted to stall Draco from killing him so that Snape would be forced to do it instead (hence the "revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face" (595)), thus saving Draco from becoming a murderer and destroying his own soul. The revulsion and hatred could then, arguably, be for himself, Voldemort, Draco, Dumbledore, the whole situation in general. For Dumbledore not because he hates him, but because Dumbledore is asking him to do this. Similar in the way that Dumbledore made Harry promise to do *anything* that Dumbledore asked of him.
That would also cover Snape's reaction to being called a coward (602, 604). Especially the pain and vehemance on page 604.
And then there's the whole fact that Snape saves Harry from being tortured/killed by one of the Death Eaters out by Hagrid's hut. Again, it could just be because Voldemort wants Harry for himself, as Snape claims. But it could also be that Snape's still on the side of good and doing his best to cover his tracks everywhere.
I hope it's conflicted and twisted. If Snape just turns out to be evil, I'll be disappointed and kind of sad.
*
I think it's safe to say that JKR is going for Ron/Hermione. :) And Harry/Ginny.
I'll also be disappointed if Ginny takes the whole "it's too dangerous to be my girlfriend" thing sitting down. She ought to do a Mary Jane thing from Spiderman 2. Let her decide whether or not it's too dangerous. Ron and Hermione are going to force themselves into Harry's little army-of-one plan, why not Ginny?
*
I like Harry more in this book than in the others so far. I never disliked him, but he was always kind of...just the character the story was about and through which the story was told. He never really stood out for me. And this time, for whatever reason, I really felt more connected to him. He's funny and flawed and daring and shy and (sometimes) stupid and full of it. And I really, genuinely like him. Yea.
Eh. That's all I have for now. It's all still sinking in.
This is the longest that it's taken me to get through a Harry Potter book on the first read. Usually I finish in four to five days, or less, depending on the length. Definitely not this one, though.
Huh.
I'm going to try to write about this in an orderly thoughtful manner. It may not work out though. I did take notes while reading though, because, of course, I am a major dork. I am also an English major. Combine the two and I just can't help myself!
Spoilery Notes & Minor Thoughts
-- "The Other Minister" -- My first thought? "omg, she's gonna kill Tony Blair!" But then she didn't. This chapter, in a lot of ways, exhibits exactly why I was feeling a little, shall we say, iffy? about Rowling and Harry Potter. There's a lot of exposition. There's a lot of explanation. There's a lot of...sitting around and talking. When I started reading it, I turned to Mom and said that if this were a movie or a television show, I couldn't see it happening as it was laid out. Audiences get bored with sitting around and talking. So, for me, some of the exposition was heavy handed. I mean, yeah, good way to get your readers caught up with what's going on, but also? A tad boring. ::shrug::
-- "Spinner's End" -- Oh, the beginning of the end. [In hindsight? Very misleading chapter. At least to me.]
-- "Will and Won't" -- Much love for Dumbledore at the Dursley's.
-- "Horace Slughorn" -- Found the Inferi thing a little...odd. I mean, reanimating corpses is kind of extreme. And that was my first reaction, but then I remembered what I was reading and tried to shrug it off. Did think it was funny that something that extreme/bad hadn't been mentioned before.
Slughorn's...okay. ::shrug:: Amusing and kind of annoying. Was interested to find out that he is a Slytherin. About time we saw someone "good" come out of that house. There certainly haven't been enough major dark wizards in the past to say that *everyone* in Slytherin is evil.
I'm still wondering about the prophecy from the fifth book. "Neither can live while the other survives..." It could imply three people, Voldemort, Harry, and Neville. "Neither" being two and "other" being one that is not of the two. Mostly, I think Neville needs to be involved. You shouldn't mention information like that unless it means something.
-- "An Excess of Phlegm" -- Fleur/Bill. Bleh. Very fanfiction-y.
-- "Draco's Detour" --
YOU-KNOW-WHO?
YOU SHOULD BE WORRYING ABOUT
U-NO-POO --
THE CONSTIPATION SENSATION
THAT'S GRIPPING THE NATION!"
Bwah!
Hermione's quite clever, isn't she?
-- "The Slug Club" -- Reply D.A.: "It was like having friends." Oh, Luna. :(
What *would* have happened if Voldemort had chosen Neville instead of Harry? And why did he choose Harry?
On page 143 the great question of Blaise Zabini's gender is finally answered! It's a boy!
Draco's still an ass. But he seems deeper now. (My mind just went to a naughty place. ::blush::)
-- "Snape Victorious" -- Snape! Harry does a whole lot of assuming. That's going to bite him in the ass in the future, his prejudices and his assumptions.
-- "The Half-Blood Prince" -- "...be proud of the grandson she's got..." I love McGonagall and adore Neville. I really do.
I *so* want to know what else Hermione smelled in the Amortentia. Like, now. Especially after learning the meaning behind what Harry smelled. ;)
If there has to be a romance for Harry, I want it to be with Ginny. And how glad am I that she developed into a personality! Also, it's nice to see references to her ordeal with Riddle. Continuity, yea!
-- "The House of Gaunt" -- Marvolo! Tom! Merope! Neat. In a terrible way, but still, neat. And good to finally know about.
[Just now Googled the name Merope. Came up with this: ...Merope...is shamed for eternity for having an affair with a mortal. There's also some interesting stuff here at Mugglenet.]
Dumbledore's making me a bit uncomfortable with his secrets and things. And now at the end of this chapter with his smiling and the ring, and then especially with the line, Harry hesitated. Dumbledore was smiling. I mean, that's a little strange, right?
-- "Hermione's Helping Hand" -- Page 227 - Hints of Ron/Hermione! EEE!! :)
Page 233 - This is where I could see Ron turing to "the dark side." Being ignored because he's not "special."
-- "Silver and Opals" -- To really cover your tracks while doing evil, could you use the Imperious curse on someone and in turn make thme use it on someone else?
-- "The Secret Riddle" -- I'm not sure how I feel about the Riddle being inherently evil, just another bad egg. I like people to be pushed one way or another. Arguably, Riddle was pushed. But he was also always a bully. But was he a bully because he was pushed into it by feeling unwanted, or was he a bully because that's just the way he was born? (Nature vs. Nurture.)
-- "Felix Felicis" -- "No, I wouldn't," said Ron, in a very quiet voice. EEE!! :)
[I have no notes now until page 332. What happened?]
-- "The Unbreakable Vow" -- In hindsight, it's all crappy. :(
-- "A Very Frosty Christmas" -- Aw, Lupin. Who's not really involved with the whole James/Sirius/Severus thing. Seems to me like Harry's forgotten that Lupin knew his father and lost Sirius, too. In fact, he lost him twice. First time being when he thought he'd lost all three of his friends when everyone thought that Sirius was a murderer.
Harry can really hold a grudge.
Page 335 - *Finally* we learn how Lupin became a werewolf. Lots of back-story being learned in this book.
-- "A Sluggish Memory" -- Why was Dumbledore sent to talk to Riddle? Wasn't he just a one of the professors?
-- "Birthday Surprises" -- OMG! Romilda got Ron with Harry's Chocolate Cauldrons! Whoops.
This chapter is not good for Ron fans. Scare the hell out of us, why don't you? GEEZ.
-- "Elf Tails" -- Slughorn was apparently planning on giving the mead to Dumbledore. Maybe the poison was meant for him? [In hindsight? I knew it!] Glad that Ginny brought it up as a possibility.
JKR sure does like her ellipses. Nice to see she's backed off the use of ALL CAPS.
-- "Lord Voldemort's Request" -- *Why* is Dumbledore sharing these memories with Harry? Why does he want his opinion? [After getting to the end, is it possible that Dumbledore had a feeling about what was coming? A feeling that he wasn't going to make it and someone would have to know what to do should he be killed.]
Page 443 - "Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns lies." What is this, Star Wars?
Why are they called Death Eaters? Where'd they get the name?
-- "The Unknowable Room" -- Page 449. Ron/Hermione. EEE!! Love! :)
-- "After the Burial" -- That Felix Felicis sure is handy.
-- "Horcruxes" -- Dumbledore's take on the prophecy...Interesting. The only reason Harry's part of it is because Voldemort made him part of it. And the only reason the prophecy is true, is because Voldemort chose to listen to it.
-- "Sectumsempra" -- For some reason I'm suddenly developing slash vision with Draco and Harry. I'm, um, not sure how I feel about that.
Harry! It is a seriously *bad* idea to go around using spells marked "for enemies" when you don't know *exactly* what they will do. But then it seems as though Harry would never go so far as assuming that something he trusted would hurt someone so badly. [Like Dumbledore and Snape? Oh, and the person Harry was trusting all along *was* Snape. Interesting.]
Page 534 - Harry/Ginny. Because Ron's cool like that. :) Also? OMG. EEE!! :) It's no longer subtext; it is text!
-- "The Seer Overheard" -- Harry needs to trust that Dumbledore has his reasons for trusting Snape. And it sounds like serious, real reasons. Wonder what they are? [Will we ever know? Because I don't think the reasons Harry believes - Snape feeling bad about getting the Potters killed - is the reason.]
-- "The Cave" -- Okay, this whole sequence? With the hidden door and the lake that you're not supposed to touch and the dead bodies floating in the water? VERY Lord of the Rings. Or was that just me?
Page 566 - "It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more." LOVE that quote. Because I completely agree. This is why I believe I'm afraid of water where I can't see the bottom. Or water that things live in. Because I don't know.
Page 578 - "I am with you." Oh, god. ::tear::
-- "The Lightning-Struck Tower" -- Malfoy's been after Dumbledore the whole time. *That's* who they were talking about the entire time.
And now we get the traditional "get all the info/the plan from the baddie" scene. (Is Dumbledore using magic on him to make him talk though? I wouldn't be entirely surprised.)
SNAPE! Traitor! I hope that this is because of the unbreakable vow and not because he really is on Voldemort's side and a bad guy.
I think the fact that it was Snape that killed him makes it worse. ::sob:: There's also the part where Dumbledore pleaded. ::sob:: [More thoughts below.]
-- "Flight of the Prince" -- Boy, Snape's conflicted.
I KNEW IT WAS SNAPE!!
Snape did stop the guy from killing Harry. I'm holding out hope here.
Who is R. A. B.?
-- "The Phoenix Lament" -- I thought Fleur was going to dump Bill. Really nice to see her showing depth and then finally bonding with Mrs. Weasley.
OMG. Tonks/Lupin! LOVE!
Go McGonagall with the headmistress position. She deserves it, but not under these circumstances.
Harry is going to dump Ginny because it is TOO DANGEROUS FOR HER TO BE WITH HIM. Dumb, Harry.
-- "The White Tomb" -- Mostly this chapter was just squees and lots and lots of tears. Was interesting about the possible phoenix though.
*****
Thoughts
In Joseph Malozzi's blog (See the incredible way in which I connect everything to Stargate?), he talks about his wife's reaction to the pacing of the book. "As to why my wife disliked it so much - according to her, the books traditionally rely on heavy exposition in their final chapters, but in the case of Half Blood Prince, almost the entire book was exposition. All of the action either happened in the past (ie. the pensieve) or elsewhere (the burgeoning war with Voldemart's forces). In previous books, elements introduced early in the story end up figuring into the story's denouement. In the case of the last book, magical elements are introduced in the denouement to explain some of the seemingly inexplicable goings-on. Finally, she felt that the book felt like a stage-weight in preparation for the next and final installment."
I didn't dislike the book, but I know exactly what she means about the pacing. I was just now talking to Natasha, and she said that it was "a calming read" until the last few chapters. Very interesting way to work the book.
I think that the fact that much of the book's action is in memories or off-stage is part of the reason why I found book six so easy to put down and walk away from. It's a good book. Not the best book, but still a good read, but it didn't have the same urgency to it. Until those last few chapters where the action enters the present and moves to the forefront.
*
Dumbledore and Snape. Maybe I'm blinded by my love of Snape's very grey-area character, but I *really* hope that there's more to his murder of Dumbledore than just a betrayal of Dumbledore's trust. There is nothing to say anywhere that he did it because he's evil. All we know is that he did it. And, in a nice divergence from the generally Harry POV focus, we get to see Snape make the unbreakable vow with Narcissa that he will carry out the task Draco's been assigned if Draco cannot do it.
Looking back at the scene, I wonder if it's possible that Dumbledore was expecting this to happen? Perhaps he wanted to stall Draco from killing him so that Snape would be forced to do it instead (hence the "revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face" (595)), thus saving Draco from becoming a murderer and destroying his own soul. The revulsion and hatred could then, arguably, be for himself, Voldemort, Draco, Dumbledore, the whole situation in general. For Dumbledore not because he hates him, but because Dumbledore is asking him to do this. Similar in the way that Dumbledore made Harry promise to do *anything* that Dumbledore asked of him.
That would also cover Snape's reaction to being called a coward (602, 604). Especially the pain and vehemance on page 604.
And then there's the whole fact that Snape saves Harry from being tortured/killed by one of the Death Eaters out by Hagrid's hut. Again, it could just be because Voldemort wants Harry for himself, as Snape claims. But it could also be that Snape's still on the side of good and doing his best to cover his tracks everywhere.
I hope it's conflicted and twisted. If Snape just turns out to be evil, I'll be disappointed and kind of sad.
*
I think it's safe to say that JKR is going for Ron/Hermione. :) And Harry/Ginny.
I'll also be disappointed if Ginny takes the whole "it's too dangerous to be my girlfriend" thing sitting down. She ought to do a Mary Jane thing from Spiderman 2. Let her decide whether or not it's too dangerous. Ron and Hermione are going to force themselves into Harry's little army-of-one plan, why not Ginny?
*
I like Harry more in this book than in the others so far. I never disliked him, but he was always kind of...just the character the story was about and through which the story was told. He never really stood out for me. And this time, for whatever reason, I really felt more connected to him. He's funny and flawed and daring and shy and (sometimes) stupid and full of it. And I really, genuinely like him. Yea.
Eh. That's all I have for now. It's all still sinking in.
This is the longest that it's taken me to get through a Harry Potter book on the first read. Usually I finish in four to five days, or less, depending on the length. Definitely not this one, though.
no subject
Anyways, I want to know who R. A. B. is too. I was wondering if it could possibly be a character we already know, but the possibilities of that probably aren't high. I want to meet this person or persons. I want to know more about them. I want to know what role they are going to play in the end. Or they could just be some random, not very important character. But I doubt that.
Anyways, thanks for sharing what you thought. It gives me much to think about.
no subject
I've heard theories that R. A. B. is Regalus Black, Sirius' brother (I think). I bet that whoever they are, they'll be important. You don't drop little hints and clues and NOTES like that and then not address it.
You're welcome. :) I'd love to hear more of your thoughts. I miss discussing things with people.
no subject
I have the feeling that this sort of thing is common. The headmaster is often busy (?) and sends someone else to take care of things like this.
Hagrid was sent to fetch Harry after all. Even if there were other literary reasons to send Hargrid instead of D.
no subject
But that's also a really dumb thought because, yeah, of course you establish relationships between major characters like that. ::eyeroll:: And, you're right, same reason to send Hagrid to explain it all to Harry. It introduces an important character and establishes an important relationship in those characters' lives.