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.

You know, lots of people in the UK leave school at 16, don't they? BTW, is Regulus Black's middle initial "A"? We don't know that, do we?

One of my friends doesn't believe that Snape killed Dumbledore in his role as a double agent. She thinks that JKR would have allowed Harry to see some sort of hesitation as we saw with Draco. However, I would like to think that Snape has years of not hesitating in playing this role to prepare him for this, whereas Draco is mostly a loudmouthed snob and a bully.

Word.

And yes, sumi, they do.

Just finished.

really so good. DH was waiting for my first thought- and it is that they are all grown up now. They aren't kids anymore. They may still do kid things, but they aren't kids.

The death of Dumbledore - so well done. Not a shock, but it still happened so fast. and even though I hadn't thought it out - I am with everyone that thinks Snape had to kill him.

I liked the paceing of this book so much more than the last two. Even though there were spots where I wanted to smack them all - it didn't feel dragged.

The Ginny thing was inevitble too. but to some extent Harry still sees her as Ron's little sister. so doubly he has to protect her. But we all know Ginny has some powerful magic. The are hints that she is very advanced.

and the Bill and Fleur thing - really cute.

I woke up this morning thinking about the pensieve and the quite large role it has played in the last three books. I have a strong suspicion at DD will reappear in the next book after having stored his memories and thoughts for Harry's retrieval .

When that happens, I predict that DD will clear Snape of all wrong-doing .

Or, at least I hope that will be the case. Because I'm loving the idea of Snape repenting for Lily's murder and his whole 'greasy-haired' stick-up-the-buttness being an extension of unrequited love.

Cuz otherwise? He's crap as a villian.