Lumnos

[kerravonsen]

More thoughts on Deathly Hallows and Potter in general.

Something's been bothering me for a long time.

Dumbledore: Hmmm, now how am I going to ensure that Harry Potter is brought up so that he'll agree to be offed when the time comes? Okay, make him ignorant of his heritage, like Tom Riddle, give him a loveless abusive environment, like Tom Riddle, make Hogwarts his home, like Tom Riddle, and risk that he'll end up in Slytherin, like Tom Riddle. Of course he won't turn out like Tom Riddle -- he's got his mother's eyes! And the eyes are the windows of the soul, which means there's no chance -- despite the huge physical resemblance -- that he'll turn out to be a selfish egotistical prat like his father. Brilliant plan!

It has never been satisfactorily explained what Lily saw in James.

Awwww for the might-have-beens of Snape and Lily. I think things would have been a whole lot different if Snape had ended up in Ravenclaw (which I think he could have, if he'd wanted to).

I loved the "Ravenclaw doesn't have a password, but a riddle" thing.

When did Harry figure out the line of succession of the Elder wand? Was it before or after he decided to go after the Horcruxes rather than the Hallows? I liked that dilemma, though. The choice between power and... duty? sacrifice?

I also like that Voldemort got it wrong with that wand, twice. Not just that the line of inheritance went Dumbledore -> Draco -> Harry, but that even if it had gone Dumbledore -> Snape, Voldemort did not kill Snape himself, but got his snake to do it, so even if he'd been right, then the wand would have passed to Nagini, and then to Neville, who killed her.

I'm sad that Snape's death was so... little. Bitten by a snake in the Shrieking Shack, with no chance to defend himself or do anything good with it. Mind you, Voldemort was probably wise to be cautious in that way, because Snape was probably the most skilled and powerful wizard next to Voldemort and Dumbledore, and it would have been too risky to have a wizarding duel with a wand that he was unsure of.

It was probably just as well, though, because I don't think that Snape would have been able to persuade Harry of the truth with anything less than a deathbed pensieve...

Loved the turnaround of Kreacher - yay!
And Ron's standing up for house-elves at last.

Some people really hated that both Lupin and Tonks were killed -- as if JKR was being shocking for the sake of being shocking, cheapening the death by just having them be part of the bodycount, giving us a sucker-punch to be sensationalist. I disagree. Yes, it was a sucker-punch, and it was meant to be a sucker-punch, but I think it was really meant to bring home the brutality of war: that good people, people we love, really do die; that war is horrible and unfair and leaves orphans; that sometimes all we have in the aftermath are dead bodies and no knowledge of the specifics of their heroisms.

The Final Battle reminded me in places of battles I've read in Diana Wynne Jones' Chrestomanci books -- because a wizarding battle really needs to be full of wierd and wonderful things like marauding desks, walking suits of armour, and dangerous flora. Good stuff.

I was dissappointed that none of the Slytherins elected to fight. That, along with Dumbledore's remark "I think we sort them too young" seems to imply that ambition is the root of all (kinds of) evil, that Slytherin is a concentration of all that is worst in people. This seems to be counter to the messages of forgiveness, love and second chances that keep on coming up in the books.

I was also a bit dissappointed that the epilogue seems to indicate that nothing has changed -- almost nothing. Even though I do get it that the epilogue is supposed to bring us full circle, back to the beginning, going off to Hogwarts. There are two positive changes. One, of course, the bit about Snape, Harry's full forgiveness and admiration, and also admitting to his son about being able to choose not to be in Slytherin. (Hmmmm. Is that supposed to mean that Slytherin is symbolic of choosing for or against evil?)
The other is a minor thing, but I considered it hopeful: that Ron took a muggle driving test. That seems to indicate, perhaps, that there is some loosening of the barriers between the worlds.

There are two major things wrong with Wizarding society. One is Slytherin House (though that's only in Britain -- but we also have places like Durmstrang, which are similarly dark) and the House system that divides more than it unites. Though I can see why it would remain in place -- it's so central to British Wizards' identity that they would sack any Headmaster of Hogwarts who tried to get rid of it.

Second is, of course, the contempt and ignorance that many Wizards have for Muggles. You can see how it arose -- the Statutes of Secrecy that were made to protect Wizards from Muggle persecution have not only cut off Muggles from Wizards, but Wizards from Muggles.

Comments

[mistraltoes.livejournal.com]

I'm sad that Snape's death was so... little. Bitten by a snake in the Shrieking Shack, with no chance to defend himself or do anything good with it.

Yes. That's one of the things I wish had been better handled. There was no clear redemptive moment for Snape, and no reconciliation with Harry. And really not much reason for Harry to approach the dying Snape, either.

I was dissappointed that none of the Slytherins elected to fight. That, along with Dumbledore's remark "I think we sort them too young"

Annoyed me no end. After all that about 'we must unite' then we see that Dumbledore apparently didn't really think so.

I don't think the House system is bad, though. It provides a balance between teamwork and competition. Competition should never be allowed to extend to animosity, though. There must be an understanding of 'good sportsmanship', so to speak.

[kerravonsen]

I don't think the House system is bad, though. It provides a balance between teamwork and competition. Competition should never be allowed to extend to animosity, though. There must be an understanding of 'good sportsmanship', so to speak.

The problem with Slytherin House is that they're all competition and no teamwork.

[mistraltoes.livejournal.com]

One of us is not understanding the other. Where in the books do you see Slytherins not working with each other? They stick together, their Quidditch team is pretty good, they won the House cup for years before Harry and his friends started school, and if Draco is any indication they are proud of being Slytherin; they must be cooperating with each other somehow.

[hawkeye7.livejournal.com]

It has never been satisfactorily explained what Lily saw in James
Hmmm... that's a toughie. All he is is the rich, handsome captain of the house Quidditch team.

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

Dumbledore: Hmmm, now how am I going to ensure that Harry Potter is brought up so that he'll agree to be offed when the time comes? Okay, make him ignorant of his heritage, like Tom Riddle, give him a loveless abusive environment, like Tom Riddle, make Hogwarts his home, like Tom Riddle, and risk that he'll end up in Slytherin, like Tom Riddle. Of course he won't turn out like Tom Riddle -- he's got his mother's eyes! And the eyes are the windows of the soul, which means there's no chance -- despite the huge physical resemblance -- that he'll turn out to be a selfish egotistical prat like his father. Brilliant plan!

:)

To be fair, he didn't have much choice in the matter of the abusive home, since AIUI having the Dursleys' as his home kept him safe from Voldemort, and Petunia was Harry's only living relative. And he couldn't come down on the Dursleys too hard, or they might have put him in an orphanage. Incidentally, apart from the "ignorant of his heritage" bit, it all seems to apply to Snape too.

It has never been satisfactorily explained what Lily saw in James.

Good women often do seem to find men who are somewhat roguish - or worse - oddly attractive, as reading LJ for a couple of years has convinced me. But I would rather think that James matured rapidly in the last year or two at school and became much more likeable. Also the sort of unpleasant characters that Snape was evidently hanging around with gave James some excuse for being nasty to him, though I don't condone it. (And contrast it with how Harry behaved towards Draco, saving his life even though doing so risked losing the horcrux.)

When did Harry figure out the line of succession of the Elder wand? Was it before or after he decided to go after the Horcruxes rather than the Hallows? I liked that dilemma, though. The choice between power and... duty? sacrifice?

I think when he made his choice he had probably worked out that it had been Dumbledore's. But surely he couldn't have faced breaking into Dumbledore's grave in any case. I doubt that he workled out the line of reasoning linking it through Draco to himself till right at the very last moment.

I also like that Voldemort got it wrong with that wand, twice. Not just that the line of inheritance went Dumbledore -> Draco -> Harry, but that even if it had gone Dumbledore -> Snape, Voldemort did not kill Snape himself, but got his snake to do it, so even if he'd been right, then the wand would have passed to Nagini, and then to Neville, who killed her.

I don't think so, After all, Draco didn't kill Dumbledore. Also there's a sense in which Nagine >i>is Voldemort.

I'm sad that Snape's death was so... little. Bitten by a snake in the Shrieking Shack, with no chance to defend himself or do anything good with it. Mind you, Voldemort was probably wise to be cautious in that way, because Snape was probably the most skilled and powerful wizard next to Voldemort and Dumbledore, and it would have been too risky to have a wizarding duel with a wand that he was unsure of.

What I thought rather unsatisfactory was Voldemort leaving in time for Harry to dash in just before Snaope died. His plan of waiting for Harry to come to him had seemed a good one, and the reason for his changing it didn't seem convincing. A better one, IMO, would be that he wanted to try out his newly impoved wand in combat.

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

I had to split this into two, as my original was too long.

Some people really hated that both Lupin and Tonks were killed -- as if JKR was being shocking for the sake of being shocking, cheapening the death by just having them be part of the bodycount, giving us a sucker-punch to be sensationalist. I disagree. Yes, it was a sucker-punch, and it was meant to be a sucker-punch, but I think it was really meant to bring home the brutality of war: that good people, people we love, really do die; that war is horrible and unfair and leaves orphans; that sometimes all we have in the aftermath are dead bodies and no knowledge of the specifics of their heroisms.

Yep. Actually it was probably more merciful than letting just one of them survive.

There are two positive changes. One, of course, the bit about Snape, Harry's full forgiveness and admiration, and also admitting to his son about being able to choose not to be in Slytherin. (Hmmmm. Is that supposed to mean that Slytherin is symbolic of choosing for or against evil?)

No, doesn't Harry specifically say that he will be happy with whichever house his son goes into, but that the hat wearer's wish does influence the Sorting Hat's choice.

There are two major things wrong with Wizarding society. One is Slytherin House (though that's only in Britain -- but we also have places like Durmstrang, which are similarly dark) and the House system that divides more than it unites. Though I can see why it would remain in place -- it's so central to British Wizards' identity that they would sack any Headmaster of Hogwarts who tried to get rid of it.

Also schools as long established as Hogwarts tend to be very hidebound by tradition. I don't see why the house system couldn't be reformed, though, if not abolished.

Second is, of course, the contempt and ignorance that many Wizards have for Muggles. You can see how it arose -- the Statutes of Secrecy that were made to protect Wizards from Muggle persecution have not only cut off Muggles from Wizards, but Wizards from Muggles.

I wonder if Shackley Kingsbolt's temporary post as MoM has become permanent? The anti-Muggle movement must have been greatly weakened by the events of 19 years before. And it may have been no coincidence that, in picking Hermione and Ron to accompany Harry, Dumbledore ensured a halfblood, mudblood, pureblood trio.

I think the very last paragra[h gives a hint that Voldemort may not be finally gone and, if there are no more Harry Potter books, there may yet be more set in that world. After all, surely one wouldn't expect Harry's scar to flare up now that the portion of Voldemort's sould that he contained has gone. Maybe there was another Horcrux that no-one is aware of?

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

And it may have been no coincidence that, in picking Hermione and Ron to accompany Harry, Dumbledore ensured a halfblood, mudblood, pureblood trio.

Interestingly, being halfbloods is something else that Harry, Voldemort and Snape had in common, IIRC.

[kerravonsen]

No, you're right.

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

One further point about Snape that has occurred to me. His portrait is not mentioned as being among those applauding Harry in the Head Teacher's office. I can think of three possible reasons:

1. Ms Rowling forgot about him or didn't think it important to mention him. This seems unlikely.

2. He hadn't been Head for very long, and they (probably the governors) hadn't got around to commissioning a portrait. That's possible.

3. That he still couldn't face praising Harry, and it would look very mean-spirited if he simple did nothing, so her arranged for his frame to be empty at the crucial moment. My money would be on this option.

[kerravonsen]

I'm inclined to think that a variation of (2) is the case: that the governors (or some of them) didn't consider him a "proper" headmaster, because he'd been appointed without their approval.

Though, since Dumbledore's portrait didn't appear until after he was dead, maybe it wasn't a case of "commissioning" a portrait, but it was some sort of magical thing where a Hogwarts Headmaster portrait appears in the Headmaster's office after they die.

In which case, it could be argued that the lack of a portrait could be evidence that Snape isn't actually dead...

[kalquessa.livejournal.com]

Snapes death was rather a rip-off wasn't it? I suppose it makes sense logically for Voldemort to be cautious like that, but I would really have liked some dueling and parting sarcasm. *sigh*

The battle for Hogwarts was indeed awesome. McGonegall and her battalion of desks made me laugh with delight.

The fact that no seventh-year Slytherins stayed to fight was the thing that bothered me the most. It didn't seem to fit with the rest of the book. She seemed to be trying to sell us on the idea that Slytherins could be good guys, too, and that they had valuable traits just like everyone else...and then the entire Slytherin table leaves the hall. Even Harry's little speech to his son about how the bravest man he;d ever known was a Slytherin couldn't really make up for the fact that there were no green ties left at Hogwarts when it all started going down.