SPOILERS BELOW.
— Dumbledore. Wow. I did not see that coming. Well – not until they went into that horrible cave. Then I started thinking: “oh boy … something’s going to happen here …”
— Horrible. That awful battle at the end. I kept thinking: “If Dumbledore is dead … then ANYone can die!” (Sorry, Cedric – I already recovered from the shock of your death.) I thought Hermione was going to die. I don’t know why. I just got it into my head that she was going to die. And poor Bill. Being bitten by a werewolf is certain to impact him in future years.
— But the one scene in the hospital when Fleur suddenly says, “Of course I will love him even with his wounds ..” and suddenly she and Mrs. Weasley are crying and hugging was PERFECT. That’s just how families actually work, and it was a very touching moment.
— I understood the whole horcrux thing only while I was reading that chapter. I mean, I get it – but I had to keep reading to keep getting it, and … it required momentum for me to keep understanding what they were trying to do and what it all meant Bits of Voldemort’s soul split off and hidden in objects. Okay. Got it.
— The entire romantic sub-plot was wonderful, I thought. It stretched out throughout the book – but never overwhelmed the plot. It kept my interest. It didn’t become sappy or tiresome. I loved how Hermione was obviously trying to make Ron jealous by dating only the people that would drive Ron NUTS. Smart girl. And Ron basically practicing his “snogging” skills on Lavendar – who is SUCH a type – didn’t we all know a girl like that in high school? Hell, I know women like her now. Women who can’t WAIT to have a man, so that she can then clip his wings, and domesticate the hell out of him. I honestly do not understand women like that – I never have – but they exist – some of them are my good friends, and whatever – a lot of men must love that kind of shite, because women like that are ALWAYS in relationships whereas I am not. Lavendar wants to “have” Ron so that he will be trapped. I thought it was hysterical how Ron ended up hiding whenever he saw her coming. And Harry with his unrequited love for Ginny – and how she suddenly ran at him in the common room with her face “blazing” and suddenly he found himself kissing her. The moment he had been waiting for. I liked how it all played out. It was subtle – and yet it was treated with the right amount of importance. Romance is really important to people who are 16 years old … and the book reflects that. I mean, romance is important to adults too – but that FIRST romance you never forget! (“The first cut is the deepest” and all that.)
— Snape. I cannot figure him out. WHY did Dumbledore trust him? I am still not sure I got an answer to that.
— When Harry comes upon the pale Draco crying in the boy’s bathroom – I suddenly felt this rush of compassion and pity for Draco – while normally I just think he’s an evil little putz. Like: has Draco been racing along on a little treadmill, being USED by Voldemort or Snape? Does he want to get out of it but CAN’T? Or does Draco just want to revenge his now imprisoned father (which would make sense …) I think it would be pretty cool if, for whatever reason, Harry and Draco ended up joining forces. Now THAT would be unexpected.
— The ending blew me away. Harry, although he has one year left, has seen too much, experienced too much, and he has outgrown Hogwarts. It’s over. It is now time for him to go out and slay the dragon on his own. His protection (Sirius, Dumbledore) is now gone. He must fight. He can’t sit in a classroom learning about potions. He needs to take action.
— And the book ends on a melancholy nostalgic note. Beautiful last sentence. A perfect last sentence, I thought. Knowing that innocence is already dead, knowing that he can no longer just sit around enjoying simple pleasures while Voldemort is still out there … he takes one last moment to enjoy his friendships, his girlfriend … He knows it will be the last time.
I am in love with these books and I already can’t wait for the next one.
I’m still on the fence about Snape. I want him to be a bad guy, because I want him to get some just rewards. But it just seems too easy.
Thoughts on R.A.B.? It’s been postulated that it’s Reginald Black, Sirius’ brother.
Oh, that’s right – hmmmm. I have to admit I get bogged down with all the other characters, and I was baffled by the RAB.
Okay. This may sound weird, Sheila, but I just KNEW something was gonna be up with Dumbledore based on the cover of the book. I know. It’s crazy. But Harry is always featured prominently on the covers — even if other people are there with him, HE’S the focal point.
The Half-Blood Prince cover, though, shows Harry and Dumbledore in equal focus. It’s so weird to admit, I know, but when I saw that, I had a verrrry bad feeling about Dumbledore. It’s a completely stupid thing to base that feeling on, I suppose!
And you’ve heard the theories floating around that Snape is actually going to be a hero in Book 7, that he’s not the bad guy everyone would think, and that that moment when Dumbledore “dies” and it sounds like he’s begging for his life, he’s actually begging Snape to go through with some pre-determined plan. Just a theory I’ve heard.
We’ll see, eh?
I meant to add — When I first looked at the book, I just had this fleeting feeling of “Oooh, why are they giving Dumbledore this big spot on the cover? UH-OH.”
I can’t really explain it. Just a gut reaction. ;-)
Now, see, I didn’t see the Dumbledore thing coming AT ALL, and I was DESTROYED. The whole time I was reading I kept saying, “No. No. No.” and was reading so fast just to STOP IT, stop what was happening, maybe it’s a dream, maybe it’s magic, just no no no no no. Then I realized I was SOBBING like someone I KNEW died. It was horrible.
Meh. He has been struck down. He has become more powerful than Darth Vadar can ever imagine.
Ok then, now you are ready for this:
http://www.dumbledoreisnotdead.com
It’ll make you think twice about things, and possibly even three or four times.
Ps: Sirius’s brother is Regulus Black. I think we’ll be hearing more about him in the future.
I was thinking along the same lines as Tracey–that Snape’s cover with the Death Eaters is now bulletproof. For additional–if tenuous–evidence, note that during the last battle, Snape was teaching Harry (or it could be taken so) as he taunted him. “Blocked again, and again, until you learn…” etc.
Regulus, yes right.
Ah, Sirius’ brother? Interesting.
Snape is good, no doubt. As he and Draco are leaving, what infuriates him? Harry calling him a coward.
Harry has no idea the sacrifice Snape is making and the risk he’s taking. Dumbledore’s pleading to Snape is for Snape to go ahead and kill him, because Dumble knows he needs to to complete his cover, like Tracey says. Plus Dumble was dying anyway from the glop he drank in the cave.
Look at the last scene between Dumble and Snape in GoF, the whole “you know what you need to do, Severus.”
Gosh, I love these books.
Tracey – That theory about Dumbledore and Snape was one of my first thoughts at the time. I just don’t really believe that Snape is really bad.
As far as Ginny and Harry I could see that coming from almost the beginning. But then who could possibly resist a beautiful red-headed girl.
Oh, and I just read Halfblood last week, so I guess that makes me second-to-last…
i “knew” dumbledore well before i even saw the book. it was just a feeling.
i love that quotation right around the “blazing” part — but you skipped the Tonks and Lupin romance! i had an inkling about that one too.
i can’t *wait* for book seven!
I am so impressed at those of you who guessed that Dumbledore was going down from the cover … man, very good work!
I love the speculations here as well – and I’m with you, Bingley – I just love these books! Can’t wait for the next one.