I devour Harry/Draco (and Cassandra Claire's work is stunningly good, so I don't care about kerfuffles). Part of me keeps thinking I should care about the "but they're only kids" but it never happens.

I quite liked AJ Hall's stuff at first, but her original characters grated on me so much that I deleted nearly all the OC scenes in the versions I saved as text files--I got tired of scrolling past them--and I got tired of everyone having such dysfunctional families. Though anything with Draco and Neville is always fun to read. There's an author on ff.net called Lightning on the Wave who's doing a massively A.U. version of the books that's fascinating and gruelling and intricate and really neat and will absolutely not be the cup of tea of lots of people. But I like it.

My major squick is torture/humiliation willingly performed by a "good" guy who never feels it was an inadvisable thing to do. Plus torture/humiliation scenes written with what I feel is a bit too loving detail. Followed by daddy!kink. Sorry.

Anyway, Fay's story is a thing of beauty and shall live on my hard drive as long as I have a means to read it and electrons hold out.

Was there an announcement somewhere?

Hesychasm has an announcement on her LJ--it apparently came through on one of her mailing lists.

I feel mildly guilty about never much liking him, or his stories. Ah, well. I'm sure he was a decent person, well-loved by his family, and sure to be missed. It is sad, though; he left a young son behind.

I'm sorry to hear that, about Brandon. Was there an announcement somewhere?

Brandon's sister-in-law sent out a message. She's in fandom, but doesn't have an lj. I believe his family plans to send an e-mail to everyone in his address book sometime soon.

I believe I was spoiled on the HPB development you're referencing above. That it's open to interpretation makes it more intriguing to me.

Oh yes - screw the spoilage, because it was predictable even before everyone was spoiling people. But there are 2 completely different and equally textually-based interpretations of the book and the events that lead up to that 'HSQ' moment, and what ACTUALLY happens at that point, and why, and what follows. I fall very firmly into one camp, and I am not alone. Many many people (I'd venture most readers, actually) fall into the other camp of interpretation.

(fwiw, I'm not talking about whether or not [insert name of character] REALLY dies. I don't think she's going to pull a Gandalf on us - there's a tiny bit of textual basis for that expectation, I suppose, with all the Phoenix stuff, but I think that would weaken the books, and I don't think she's scared of killing characters off. I'm talking about something else.)

I have no idea which way JKR is really playing it. I mean, I have excellent reasons for interpreting matters as I have done, based on the kind of tricks JKR has played in previous books (particularly 'Goblet of Fire') and I'll be most disappointed if she's NOT doing the really rather clever thing I think she's doing, but...we'll see.

Fay, I'd love to hear more about what you think is planned for the last book and why. Would you mind horribly posting here (whitefonted if need be) or in you LJ?

Well, I'm very firmly of the opinion that Snape is still Dumbledore's man, and that he has been ever since he heard the news of the Potters' deaths back in the day. My reason for believing this is, I'll grant you, rather romantic - I think he was in love with Lily Potter. I think this because despite all the bile he heaped upon James (and with reason, having seen the flashbacks to what a little shit James Potter was), he's never disparaged Lily, other than the insult he flung at her whilst he was being physically abused and humiliated by the Marauders and she (mortifying him still further) tried to intercede on his behalf. So I do believe that he was sincerely appalled when he discovered that he was culpable in her death. Harry doesn't buy guilt over the Potters' deaths as a reason for Snape to turn over a new leaf, but I do, because I think it's LILY, not James, who Snape feels terrible about. HBP showed us that Lily Evans was a potions whizz, which just solidified my belief that Snape's view of her was quite different from his view of James Potter. I think that they were friends, of a sort, and that he may well have been in love with her too.

I think Snape is a dreadful teacher, and should never have become a teacher. I wouldn't be surprised to know he's only been doing it for the sake of the Order, actually, but that's neither here nor there. I felt quite certain that Snape was lying to Narcissa and Bellatrix in Chapter Two of HBP, and my interpretation of the rest of the text was in that light. I think that Pettigrew was living with Snape because Voldemort suspected him of being a double agent. I think that Snape had to make the oath to Narcissa because he was totally backed into a corner, and I think that he then TOLD Dumbledore that he'd done so. And I think that Dumbledore told him he had to go ahead with it. I think this because Hagrid overheard a conversation between Dumbledore and Snape which he relayed to the kids, and which the kids took to be indicative of Snape's guilt - but Snape was actually saying things like 'it's too much to ask...you can push a person too far' etc etc. Which is pretty much what I'd be saying if I was told I had to murder my mentor in cold blood. JKR has a history of showing us part of the truth, but showing us it in such a way that we, or at least Harry & co, misinterpret it entirely. So I think Dumbledore, whose shrivelled hand is a constant reminder that he's not enjoying great health - knows he has to die, perhaps IS dying slowly anyway, and is cool with it. And he's willing to have Snape kill him in order to cement Snape's position in Voldemort's camp - and, simultaneously, prevent Draco from having blood on his hands. The language that JKR uses when she describes Snape's face in the Dumbledore Death scene mirrors the language she uses when Harry has to 'poison' Dumbledore with the liquid a few scenes earlier - when Harry feels like he might be killing Dumbledore, and is wracked with guilt and self-hatred and all that. I don't think that this is accidental.

After Dumbledore dies, and Harry tries to fight Snape, Snape makes no attempt to kill Harry. He reacts furiously to the suggestion that he's a coward, but even as they're duelling he seems to be trying to teach Harry to be a better duellist, rather than trying to actually kill him or curse him.

I think that Snape's going to die in the last book. I think Draco might possibly be redeemed, but I think Snape's going to die. Quite possibly going to be killed by Harry, but more likely (because I don't think JKR wants Harry to have innocent blood on his hands) that he's going to die protecting Harry, or protecting somebody else who hates his guts. Because I think he's a bad tempered, rather unpleasant good guy, not a villain - and I think that Harry will realise this too late; will realise that there's a difference between being nice and being good.

I even think it's conceivable that Harry will die in the last book, but I don't think it's likely. After HBP, (continued...)

( continues...) though, I *could* actually imagine JKR doing that.

Now, I might be wrong. If I'm wrong, though, that makes for a much less interesting story arc, imho.

Fay, I'm sitting here nodding like a bobblehead at everything you just said. In fact, I would be highly disappointed and surprised if JKR went with the straightforward "Snape is a baddie" notion. I think your take on Lily being his motivation is a brilliant one, and it works. I'm not sure that JKR is subtle enough of a writer to delve into that to any decent degree, but I do think we're going to hear more about Snape-and-Lily in the last book.

Fay! Absolutely -- your interpretation is mine only you have the ability to write it clearly and in a way that makes sense.

Fay, I would be positively shocked if your theory were not true.