I'm also frighteningly convinced by that Ron is Dumbledore argument.

So you're saying that Ron is subletting from Dumbledore?

I fear her characters have grown beyond her ability to write them well.

Yes, this. But I also think she's got a limited fictional worldview. She's very impatient with fans who want there to be more to Draco than Evil Evil Kid. I can certainly see saying "Don't have a crush on Draco, he's not like the actor." But she's also saying that it's disturbing that people want to be Slytherins; that means that in her mind it's perfectly natural to have one house for Evil People.

It just doesn't make sense, dammit. Why would you tolerate several hundred years of a public school one-quarter of whose population are doomed to dress well and cackle a lot?

in her mind it's perfectly natural to have one house for Evil People.

It just doesn't make sense, dammit. Why would you tolerate several hundred years of a public school one-quarter of whose population are doomed to dress well and cackle a lot?

I get this, too. And no, it doesn't make real sense.

Perhaps there is a Scarlet Pimpernel factor -- the Slytherin you think is all cackle, sneer and upper-crusty hauteur turns out to be a powerful (yet manipulative -- that's what Slyth is about, right?) force for good.

I would like that to be true, but Rowlings has expressed horror at people who think there could be some good in Slytherins. I think she's afraid we are seduced by their power, money, and blond wigs.

[Not that I have an Lucius Malfoy problem or anything.]

I think the half-blood prince is Hagrid, who had quite a large role (no pun intended) in CoS.

If this were the case, I would toss the book across the room -- or, okay, skim even more than I normally do and roll my eyes a lot.

Does anyone else find Hagrid an annoying waste of space who should have been fired for real long ago?

Does anyone else find Hagrid an annoying waste of space who should have been fired for real long ago?

Only in the movies. I like him in the books, but that's because there's enough time and space (and pages) to flesh out his character fully.

In the movies, partly by necessity of the constraints on running time, he's pretty 2-dimensional.

I like him even less in the books. He's just this big annoying guy who keeps getting into stupid complicated subplots that are completely his own fault and needing Harry/Hermione/Ron to get him out of them, endangering students and adding hundreds of pages to the book. Then we're constantly being told what a Woobie he is, just to add insult to injury. He's somewhat more endearing, or at least less distracting, in the movies.

(I've read each book once, so I can't quote chapter and verse on this -- it's just a general impression.)

Hagrid's too obsequious. I like him in the movies, because he doesn't have as much time to bow and scrape.

I like Hagrid well enough, I just wish he didn't take up so much time in the books.

I'm not happy about it, but I think all signs are pointing to Hagrid being the half-blood prince at this point. We know the war with the Dark Side is developing. We know both sides want the giants' support. We know Hagrid brought his brother back to Hogwarts in the last book. We know he was expelled for presumably opening the CoS. At least if he is the HBP, he might actually serve a purpose.