HBP

[emmagrant01]

I read it! I spent the whole day reading it. Wow, wow, wow.



I haven't read anyone else's comments yet, on purpose. I wanted to write down my own thoughts before hearing what other people have thought. As a caveat, this is literally my impression after a first reading, and my ideas will probably continue to evolve. Feel free to comment, disagree, and so on as you like. This review will focus on two things: my thoughts about the book itself, and how it affects my view of the fandom, especially the slashy side.

I had the weirdest feeling that I was reading fan fiction the entire time I was reading the book -- very well-plotted, well-written gen fan fiction, but fan fiction nonetheless. This just goes to show 1) how many truly talented fanfic writers there are out there, and 2) how much fan fiction means to me as a HP fan.

I don't feel like this book added very much to the HP universe. It wasn't as ground-shaking a read as any of the other books have been for me. I was impressed by two new additions to the magic: non-verbal spell-casting (which explains why the adults in the films spend so much time waving their wands and getting nice results with no spells) and apparition. I was disappointed with the way apparition played out, though, I have to say. I thought it would be better explained than it was. It felt like JKR just sort of waved her hands at it because she had to. But other than that, I'm not sure what this book really added to the magic of the universe.

I guess my general reaction to the book is one of acceptance. We're on the downhill slide of this story, and the plot lines are going to be wrapped up. I almost dread the last book now. But I have to say it felt like not a lot happened in this book. It felt so slow-paced compared to the others. The whole point seemed to be to give Harry and Dumbledore a chance to rebuild their relationship before Dumbledore was inevitably bumped off. But more on that later.

Harry: He certainly grew up a lot ofter OOTP, didn't he? He was almost a different character altogether. It was definitely time for him to start acting like an adult, but I wish we could have seen a bit more of that transformation. Only a few weeks passed between the books, but Harry had transformed. Perhaps people really do change that quickly, but it seemed a little much to me.

Ron/Lavender & Ron/Hermione: Can I just say that I love horn-dog Ron? Man, when he decided it was time to get some sexual experience, he just went out and got it. I adored the scenes about his schmoopy relationship with Lavender! It's like JKR was making fun of every bad fic on FFN. I also like the fact that he and Hermione dated other people, because it adds something to their relationship.

Harry/Ginny: I've seriously been rooting for this pairing ever since CoS. So, so happy to see it appear here. I love Harry and Ginny together -- they're so very well matched. Harry even says it at the end. He knows Ginny will understand why he has to go, and she does. That was an interesting gesture, and I doubt their relationship is really over.

Draco: I was enraptured by Draco in this fic! All of his sneaking around and angsting about what he had to do were, frankly, a fangirl's dream. This has to be the slashiest Harry/Draco book yet. I mean, hell -- Harry even admits to obsesssing over Draco! The moment Moaning Myrtle said a boy would come to the bathroom and cry to her, I knew it had to be Draco, and it totally blew my mind. And Draco tries to kill Dumbledore and can't! He's even on the verge of accepting Dumbledore's offer before the DEs come out. I was like, "Hello, when did JKR start writing fanon!Draco?" He just needed to be gay and it would have been the cherry on top! So, so much potential for H/D slash here.

I should say that I spent a good chunk of this book convinced that Draco was a werewolf, and that was what he had been up to. I was relieved it didn't turn out that way, but I'm still suspicious. There were too many physical symptoms described, and the moon was definitely not full when he escaped with Snape into the forest. I'm just sayin'.

Oh, and the dark curse Harry cast at Draco in the bathroom! Harry's sense of horror and remorse at what he had done really spoke volumes to me, not so much about H/D, but about who Harry really is deep down. He couldn't even cast a crucio at Bellatrix in book 5 because he doesn't have that much hate in him, so it shouldn't be surprising that he instantly regrets what he's done to Draco. Of course, he forgets it pretty quickly and becomes self-centered again, but still. That was a very cool moment! I was surprised that there wasn't more vitriole from Snape at that. He really seemed to believe that Harry didn't mean to hurt Draco.

sistermagpie has a fantastic essay about Draco's role in the book here.

Snape: Dear GOD, the potential for Snape/Draco slash! Snape taking a frickin' oath to protect Draco at all costs, knowing that it meant he would have to kill Dumbledore? JKR has handed us that one on a silver fucking platter. I'm not really a Snarry fan, so I have no idea how this book affects those folks. I'm so completely intrigued by the role Snape is going to play in the last book. I also like the fact that he has Draco with him wherever he is and has Draco's trust. I really, really want Draco to be redeemed, and though I doubt I'll get it, the book at least leaves that possibility open. Oh, and Snape being the one who revealed the prophecy to Voldemort? Oooooooh.

And Snape is the half-blood prince? I thought about that early on, but the date of the book threw me off. Very clever... Oh, and I thought Snape was pureblood, but apparently his father was a Muggle? I thought I remembered something about the Snape family being very old, from the tapestry at 12 Grimmauld Place. Need to re-read OOTP still.

jedirita mentioned the irony of Snape and Harry bonding through the book. That seems like an Snarry shipper's dream, doesn't it? ;-)

Lupin/Tonks: That was entirely unnecessary, and seemed to be a deliberate dig at the Sirius/Remus shippers. Or is it just me?

Blaise Zabini: Is black and extremely good-looking. Oh, let the Draco/Blaise fic fly! And why does Blaise being black bother some people?

Dumbledore: This character is such an enigma, and I wonder if we'll learn more about him. Even though I stayed away from spoilers, I knew he would die in this book, because he HAD to. It's Joseph Campbell all over again: the wise mentor has to die before the hero finishes the journey, because the journey is ultimately something that the hero must undertake alone. I was really intrigued by what Dumbledore suffered while drinking the green potion, too. And I was also intrigued by his bond with Snape. I really, really hope we learn what that is.

R. A. B.: Regulus A. Black. Duh?

Okay, and what does the new book mean for fan fic and slash fandom? It means whatever the fuck we want it to mean. I'm sure there'll be a chorus of "Oh, all these fics are AU now, boo hoo!" But they were always going to be. It doesn't affect STG or LMH for me. It will probably affect what I write in the future, but I really don't see that any doors have been closed as a result of this book. At least, none of the doors I care about have been closed, and a couple of new ones have been opened.

The biggest impact I see on the fandom is the hint that the seventh book may not take place at Hogwarts. Which makes post-Hogwarts H/D fic SO fucking awesome! I mean, think of the possibilities! But I know Hogwarts-based fic is really popular, and I'm sure this will have an impact on that genre of fic. Of course, there are so many opportunities for shippy fic from this book. The sheer amount of sex one could write set in HBP is mind-boggling!



Edit: more thoughts, the morning after

Reading other people's comments has been a lot of fun, and it's got me thinking more about certain parts of the story. I really need to read it again, but I'm thinking of re-reading GOF and OOTP first.

On Harry/Ginny: The Harry/Hermione folks are being particularly snarky about this one. I've seen a few posts that say that H/G makes no sense because it seemed to come from out of the blue. Well, I don't think it did, actually, because JKR's been hinting at it for a while. But it's certainly true that Harry didn't realize it until he saw Ginny kissing Dean. And that's completely realistic! It happens very often that people suddenly realize their attraction for someone they've known for a while. In fact, that's true of me and my husband, and of my sister and her husband. It comes across as sour grapes, IMO. Just grab that life preserver folks, K?

Snape is a good guy: I was really surprised to read that so many people aren't sure that Snape is a good guy. It was so completely obvious to me that he was following Dumbledore's wishes at the end! But other people have explained this much more eloquently than I ever could. I particularly like jedirita's post on the topic (see link below). And maeglinyedi has a fascinating theory that it will be Snape who kills Voldemort, not Harry (Part 1, part 2). It's a really, really interesting thought.

Lupin/Tonks: While very sweet, it still seemed a bit superfluous to me. But I really do like the arguments people are making for this being something Remus really needs. I'm still thinking something more was going on with Tonks, though. She wasn't just lovesick.

Is Draco a werewolf? There were so many hints dropped about Draco, and they reminded me a lot of the ones that were dropped in POA about Lupin. I have a hard time believing that just his task would have taken such a huge physical toll on him. Maybe it would, but the intertwining of werewolf hints and Draco's story set me on edge. Even for his obsession, Harry missed a lot of what was happening with Draco. Does Draco have a dark mark, or was that wound on his arm something else? Why was his mother so afraid for his life that she begged Snape to intervene? It seems like there's more going on there than was shown. I'll have to think about it some more.

Blue-ghostie!Dumbledore: The portrait of Dumbledore appearing in the headmaster's office got me wondering how much we will see of Dumbledore in the last book. Is he going to advise Harry like Obi-Wan advises Luke? The portraits in Dumbledore's office seem to be very special ones, after all. And it was interesting that Dumbledore's portrait was asleep when McGonagall was questioning Harry. Was he pretending? I'm thinking yes. It was too soon for Harry to face talking to him in a portrait.

Voldemort's redneck roots: Did anybody else hear the theme from Deliverance playing during that memory of Voldemort's grandfather? Holy fuck. This is why we don't marry our cousins, you know?

The horcruxes: nchurricanes10 says. "in OOTP there's a mention of a heavy gold locket that no one could open at Grimmauld Place." Eee! And there's discussion that not Harry himself but Harry's scar may be a horcrux. So... what, plastic surgery for our boy?



Links to others' comments:

marksykins here
maeglinyedi has a list of links here.
darththalia here
daily_snitch has a great list of links here
primroseburrows here
jedirita talks about Snape as the HBP, his continuing efforts to teach Harry, and his sacrifice here.
maeglinyedi has a fascinating theory that it will be Snape who kills Voldemort, not Harry (Part 1, part 2)
fictualities gives a great analysis of Harry's "homework" from Dumbledore as a lesson in how to be a Slytherin here.
sistermagpie has a fantastic essay about Draco's role in the book here.

Comments

[kirili.livejournal.com]

Doesn't he look like Blaise? Maybe its just me cause I watched a day three of the Sri Lanka vs West Indies match and his profile pic thing looked a lot like I imagined Blaise when I got round to it but take off the cap, put make up on the eyes and isn't he looks like the grown up!Blaise to me :D.
http://content.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/144075.html (scroll down, if you can be assed but yea, he's the jumping guy)


And yes, it seemed a lot like fanfiction, which along with what you have said goes to show how much is picked up when we read Harry Potters :D

[kirili.livejournal.com]

ahem. no scrolly.

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

Hmm, could be, although I'm picturing him sorta Tiger Woods-y, like this: