From the accounts I've read of people who were there, it sounds like she hadn't particularly intended to go there, but was responding to a rather emotional question from a young woman in the audience. So - yeah, I too can see both sides of the thing, but I'm giving Jo the benefit of the doubt wrt trying to earn gay points.

I mean, yes, if Grindelwald (?sp?) had been a woman, I'm pretty sure she'd have made it explicit that Dumbledore had been in love with her. And so it's a damn shame that she didn't make it textual.

But...I don't know that I can get really angry with her for having shied away from doing that. Yes, kids need positive gay role models and gay heroes to counterbalance all the crap - but she's already got a lot of crazy rightwing people hating her and heaping abuse on her for encouraging satanism (!!??!!), and that can't be fun. I mean, yes, she's enormously rich, but - I don't know that I think she was obliged to stick her neck out and say "Dumbledore is gay". Because they're kids' books, and a huge chunk of the audience are therefor pretty oblivious to sex and sexuality - and, yes, it would have been terrific to have them first encountering the concept in a positive way, but an awful lot of parents would have been furious. Which is a cowardly reason to avoid it, but - I can't get really mad with her. The story works perfectly well without her having to go there, and I LIKE the fact that it's slash. But...

Ngah. I'm really torn, actually. I'm going to go with a glass half full interpretation of events, although I do see why it's pissed people off.

Aimee is Fay and Fay is Aimee.

Ben and Glory can sod off.

and, yes, it would have been terrific to have them first encountering the concept in a positive way

Well, I'm not quite sure that "Dumbledore was in love with one of the most evil wizards of the century" is necessarily a positive way...

Very true, because then the argument could be made that she was writing that "gay = evil".

I find the "If I'd known..." comment a bit disingenuous, myself. Otherwise, I'm pleased. I don't have my book in front of me -- is Snape's love for Lily explicitly romantic or sexual? I mean, we know there's serious depth of feeling and he resents James, but does he actually say, "She should have chosen me" or that Harry should have been his son or anything like that? Actual question -- I don't remember.

Well, there's a lot of time spent in Harry's head and I heard Dumbledore's tale again. I now know what made Dumbledore the way he is. I've also learned the origins of the Deathly Hallows and how James ended up with the cloak. Then Harry goes back to his body or rather wakes up as he was already in his head.

It turns out that Voldemort collapsed as well. I take this to mean that the creature wasn't the fragment of Voldemort's soul that was in Harry but rather Voldemort himself. Voldemort has mangled his soul so much that he has become that creature, while Harry is in perfect condition. Anyhow, then Voldemort has Narcissia make sure Harry is dead. Bad move on Voldemort's part. Why have someone you've been treating like crap take care of something that important? Dude should have sent Bellatrix. OTOH, Voldemort then performs the crucio curse which should have revealed Harry living status had it worked. Interesting that it didn't work properly, I'm not sure why that would be. I feel like I should know the reason, but I can't really think of anything that makes sense.

Then Voldemort has Hagrid carry Harry out of the woods. That's just the sort of thing Voldemort would do. It would be sad if Harry was actually dead. Hagrid tries to make the centaurs feel ashamed and the Death Eaters yell insults at them. The centaurs must have a role to play yet, nobody gets away with insulting centaurs except Hagrid.

Anyhow they get out of the woods and Voldemort announces that Harry is dead, lies about the circumstances of Harry's death, and tells them that anyone who resists will be killed along with their family. The lying about Harry's death felt like a low blow. Anyhow that's pretty much where I left off. They are advancing toward the castle with Harry in display.

I now know what made Dumbledore the way he is.

In light of the ongoing conversation, I'd have to say he was born that way. (:

is Snape's love for Lily explicitly romantic or sexual?

Well, not much IS explicitly romantic or sexual on an adult level, it's a kids book. We get hidden snogging, flinging into of arms and snogging, whistful musings on peoples' hair and the one time we heard the password "mollywobbles".

I'd assume Snape had all sorts of hair sniffing and snogging thoughts about Lily but the story doesn't go there because we don't get the interior feelings of the grown ups so much.

I guess I mean, is Snape's love for Lily more explicitly romantic than Dumbledore's love for Grindelwald?

Whether it is or not, we're culturally conditioned to read it that way.