Just finished Harry Potter. Wow. The ending really hit me hard. It's reminding me of some of the darker parts of BTVS, where the things Buffy/Harry has to do are things that no *child* should ever have to do.

I figured that Dumbledore would be the one who died in this book -- I've been expecting it since book 4. And while it really will seem like a cop-out to pull a Gandalf and bring Dumbledore back, I wouldn't be surprised if that's what Rowling does in book 7, and here's why -- there were far too many flame/fire/phoenix references to chalk up to coincidence, especially about Dumbledore surviving whatever it was that flash-fried his hand. Oh, and also the Aslan-like gesture of Dumbledore dying in a sacrificial gesture.

I found it very interesting that this is the first book in which not only was there no showdown between Harry and Voldemort, in fact, Voldemort wasn't even in the book. Not one bit.

I actually feel sorry for Draco -- he clearly didn't want to kill Dumbledore -- oh, and how much did I *love* Dumbledore saying "It is my mercy, and not yours, that matters now," to Draco? -- and seemed utterly sick at the thought that he let the badass werewolf into Hogwarts, where his friends are. Draco clearly got in over his head, in love with the idea of how powerful purebloods are, wanting to impress his father, and took on the task to kill Dumbledore. (Did we ever see if Draco has the Dark Mark?) And then he realized he couldn't do it. I think we're going to see a very different Draco in book 7.

And finally (for now) -- Snape! He's no woobie to me, but my heart really broke for him in this book. Clearly, he killed Dumbledore because (1) he made the Unbreakable Vow to Narcissa, and if Draco couldn't kill Dumbledore, Snape had to, or else Draco would die, and I can't see Snape letting any student die if he can help it, (2) like everyone else has mentioned, the scene that Hagrid overhears, where Snape says he doesn't want to do what he promised any more, it's too hard, and Dumbledore says that he must, they were clearly talking about Snape killing Dumbledore and (3) I think Dumbledore was dying from the potion that guarded the faux Horcrux, and when he was pleading with Snape, it was for Snape to kill him, not for Snape to relent.

Good stuff.

Wasn't Voldemort completely missing in Prisoner of Azkaban?

Over at Mugglenet, the first two parts of a three-part interview with JKR are up (Part 3 will be posted tomorrow, I think). Excellent stuff, very filled with spoilers about HBP.

Wasn't Voldemort completely missing in Prisoner of Azkaban?

Was he? Now I can't remember....

How long does the HP HBP stuff have to be whitefonted?

Tepp, I totally agree with you about seeing a different Draco in book 7. Maybe even Harry and Draco will have to team up, or cooperate on some level, to defeat Voldermort. Sorta like Spike and Buffy in the end of season 2.

Of course, that won't happen, because what I predect never happens.

PoA had the Dementors and the threat of Sirius Black. The big finale had the reveal that the real bad guy was Peter Pettigrew.

That's one of the reasons I loved PoA. It was kind of a refreshing surprise for the villain not to be Voldemort for the third time in a row.

That, and there were like three thousand plot twists.

"a different Draco in book 7. Maybe even Harry and Draco will have to team up, or cooperate on some level, to defeat Voldermort. Sorta like Spike and Buffy in the end of season 2."

Or maybe like season seven - including the hot monkey sex.

So here were some questions I was left with from HBP (cause I really should be writing a inquiry-based lesson plan on statistics, but this is more fun):

How did RAB get the Horcrux? Did he/she have someone with him/her as well? Wasn't there a reference to something flying away from Dumbledore's body at one point, or am I making it up? Did JKR make up the whole wordless magic thing just to fuck up all the fanfic writers or what? That's a joke, there. I'm sure that wasn't her motivation. Just a funny side effect!

I haven't even read the books and I kind of want to go here: [link]

Someone in the hbp_chapters comm over at LJ had a wonderful theory about the identity of the last Horcrux--Harry's scar.