That is correct, Cindy.

Gaaaah! Gaaaaaah!

Fay said everything I would want to. She and I share a brain about HBP.

I guessed fairly early on that Snape was the Half-Blood Prince, and as soon as he turned up in Dumbledore's office at the end I knew he was going to kill Dumbledore, and do so because he had promised D. he would do so. Which means that both Dumbledore and Snape made sacrifices because of love and loyalty. This is going to be key in defeating Voldemort, just you watch.

And like Fay said, this book strengthens the notion that Snape joined the Order of the Phoenix because he was devastated at causing Lily's death. (Yes, I AM a Severus/Lily 'shipper. They are my OTP.)

I really, really liked the book. I need to re-read it, right now.

Still don't have the book. Better avoid here for a while!

I'm thinking that Snape fell for Lily during their Potions classes--want to bet that they were either paired up or competitive due to their equal brilliance in the course? And, given Sluggy's penchant for forgetting personal details about anyone who isn't in his private club, I'm thinking that a lot of that moxie that Sluggy attributes to Lily might have actually been Snape's, and he just transferred the actions to his class favorite. Love that comment "Just shove a bezoar down their throats"--so typically Snape.

A couple more thoughts:

Clearly JKR placed Wormtail at Snape's for a reason -- but what? I mean, sure, maybe Voldemort wanted Wormtail out of the way, or keeping an eye on the untrusted Snape, or whatever -- but why did JKR want him there?

Less importantly, did anyone find "A Cauldron Full of Hot Strong Love" a bit startling? I guess this isn't porny in the wizarding world, but come on -- hot strong (liquid) love? Wow.

I bloody LOVED the song. It cracked my shit up. The lyrics were *so* like all the Bessie Smith-type lyrics and all the coy double entendre-laced songs from the 40s and 50s, and that fits in brilliantly with the overall ambience of the books. Plus it's the sort of thing that wouldn't scandalise children, and yet would have adults spluttering. Loved it.

eta Woohoo! First time I've used the quick-edit way of whitefonting! Go Team Me!

I think that JKR had Wormtail show up for that all-too-brief second chapter because of fan complaints that he was nowhere to be found in OotP. Also, the idea of Snape and Wormtail being roomies is just hilarious! Mostly, however, I'm guessing that Voldemort has reason to be suspicious of both of them.

HP VI ** Weren't there comments by the characters that (at least some of) the handwriting in the Potions book was feminine? Is it possible that they're Lily's? That maybe she gave some pointers to Snape while they were in school? **

That would be lovely. I suspect the name itself of being coined by Lily, and perhaps scribbled in there as a joke. But I'm firmly convinced of Lily/Snape at the moment, so - yeah.

Fay, if you're still around and still looking for post-HBP Lupin/Tonks fic, with a heavy dose of Snape thrown in to boot, I definitely recommend The Double Tongue by rowen r at LJ.