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.

That was a very good fic. I second it.

HBP: I loved the LOTR reference in the book Luna doing Quidditch commentary."...but now that big Hufflepuff player's got the Quaffle from her, I can't remember his name, it's something like Bibble--no Buggins--" Hee.

I just finished it.

I enjoyed it much more than OotP (mainly because I frickin' loved Sirius and I thought he got a crappy death). Dumbledore's didn't really bother me because that's been hinted at for forever. What actually upset me more (I'm ashamed to say) was the idea of no Hogwarts in the next book.

I thought Harry's reason for breaking up with Ginny was pretty lame. How is she different from Ron and Hermione? I would imagine that Voldemort would try to hurt them to get to Harry, too.

Snape is so going to die saving Harry's life or something equally noble. He's the tragic hero of these books. Poor guy. I loved the fact that Harry liked and trusted the HBP before he knew his real identity. I want more info about Harry's mom NOW.

And I still want it to be Neville who destroys Voldemort.

Oh, yes, I really hope that Neville destroys Voldemort. And I think that it's still within the bounds of possibility.

I'm still holding out for either Snape or Lupin killing Wormtail, or Wormtail taking that Wizard's Debt that he owes to Harry (for saving his life from Remus and Sirius back at the end of PoA) and using it to save Harry from Voldemort. Either one of those would make me happy. It'd be great if Snape will either kill Bellatrix or assist Neville in doing so (I'm really hoping that Neville gets more ink in Book 7), maybe to save Malfoy.

As for Ginny and Harry's "breakup," I'm guessing that she's not going to stay out of the picture for very long. JKR has already established the number 7 to be a very magical number, and she is the 7th child, as well as the only female in generations. Between those omens, and her previous exposure to Voldemort and the Diary!Horcrux in CoS, she's got a lot to give to Harry in his search for the other five. He's still viewing her in New-Girlfriend-Mode, but as her breakup with Dean demonstrated, she doesn't like to be protected or mollycoddled (a word that can be taken literally as well as figuratively in this instance!). She challenges him and brings him down to earth at the same time as she supports him in his task no matter what (something that Ron and Hermione in their roles as devil's advocates, really can't provide). One of my favorite moments with the two of them is back in OotP, with the Easter eggs in the library--just talking to Ginny centers him and lets him see things in a new light.

Finished it today and am too far away to really get into the discussion, but did anyone think when Wormtail showed up at Snape's and was acting up that Snape would take away his bucket ?

This is a really nice analysis of some of the pieces of the book.

From that, I especially am interested in this bit, none of which is mine, but is from there.

Here is another random thing that struck me as I was flipping through and looking for page numbers. In the midst of the battle, on page 601:

The giant Gryffindor hourglass had been hit by a curse, and the rubies within were still falling, with a loud rattle, onto the flagstones below.

Is it just me, or is that the death rattle of the school, and of youth, and of silly things like Quidditch and points and petty rivalries? Many reviewers noted that OotP ends without any mention of the House Cup winner, which is appropriate given Harry’s state of mind. Now, however, Harry is not the only one who likely does not care one whit about who won or lost. Whether the school closes or not, students are leaving in droves--including Harry and Draco. They all are facing terrible losses and difficulties, and this image of the broken hourglass (which is of course appropriate--time passing, growing up, &c.) and the spilled points seemed like the most melancholy thing in the world to me.

What I'm interested in is this, will HP7 really have the Harry et al not at Hogwarts? and if so, how is this tied to all of the bits about them reaching their majority at 17.

I am hung up on this because I've realized that the some of the first readers or intended audience of HP1 are now college students. The idea of growing and maturing and leaving behind childhood dreams, wishes and wants shows not just through the characters, but also on a greater meta level of what the original audience experiences.