Fay, me, too. A lot. Though not that he'll kill Voldemort. Way unlikely, IMO.

10 Points to...Aimee, what House are you in?

Gryffindor, duh!

I think they should start merchandising the Magical Creatures. I'd like a plush Blast Ended Skrewt.

I want one of those miniature dragons that they gave the Tournament champions in GoF. And it's gotta be able to fly, too!

Remember the 7 year old I told you about who was reading the HBP. He finished. I asked him how he liked it:

He enjoyed it; he told me that his parents asked him a bit worriedly about how he felt after Dumbledore dies. He replied it made him sad, but not as sad as when they shot Old Yeller...

FINALLY!

Joe has finished HBP and we can discuss and discern and predict.

The family that reads together, wanks together.

UNCLE! I love the Uncle books! What they don't mention in that (frankly silly - bollocks is PC the reason they're not reissued) article is that he had to keep exploring Homeward because he forgot who half his tenants were.

Oh, good...recommendations for Uncle and Vernon Lee, so I have something to read now that I've finished HP6.

I think they should start merchandising the Magical Creatures.

A world of yes! Of course, I've also been wanting them to make real-looking Hogwarts House clothes, and not just for Gryffindor.

Much better than OotP. Even with my OCR copy that called them "Death Kilters" and referred to Our Hero as "Hairy Potter" at least once.

A few things: Dumbledore Freezing Harry: "If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine." Total vibes of Ben Kenobi knowing Luke was watching and lowering his lightsaber. It's the Hero's Quest thing: witnessing the death of the mentor/father is an important step on the path to becoming the Hero. And while I think Dumbledore is dead, I think he'll be back in some form like Kenobi was, either via Pensieve or portrait or Chocolate Frog card.

Harry's scar as Horcrux: Sounds good to me, and there was mention a couple times in the book about getting rid of scars and magical healing and all that.

My own personal misdirects and the like: My first thought about Tonks' behaviour was the same as Harry's - she was pining for Sirius. But then I remembered she was patrolling Hogsmeade, so I thought maybe she was the Imperiused one who'd given Katie the necklace. Or that Malfoy was Polyjuiced into her, which was why she couldn't metamorph.

If Harry's right where Dumbledore is wrong about Snape, it's really going to annoy me. Sort of a Buffy/Giles thing: the reason you have a mentor is because they teach the powerful hero to also be wise, rather than just a blunt instrument of destruction...and while the hero does learn to be wise (around the time the mentor dies), Harry's been saying Snape's evil for too long for me to be happy if Snape is evil.

What was the point of Slughorn and The Slug Club? The only thing I can think of is the info on Horcruxes, but Dumbledore clearly already knew about them, so...

and finally,

When will Harry realize that becoming an Auror means working for the Ministry? Gonna have to square that circle.

Oh, okay, one more D&D-geeky comment: Voldemort's a lich!

(edit: And with HP on the brain, this:

recommendations for Uncle and Vernon Lee

just looks like "Uncle Vernon.")

Given that the cheapest Uncle book I have found this morning is forty quid, I'd start with Vernon Lee...

cheapest Uncle book I have found this morning is forty quid

(low whistle) Good suggestion.

More Potter-ing:

(spoilers first) The fact that Draco didn't kill Harry on the train clued me in that Harry-murder wasn't his mission. But I can't blame him for going at Harry in the lav; since early on, H's been a jerk to and about D. I mean, if Draco had seen Harry crying, I think a fight would've ensued as well.

and

The Inferi were kind of a waste, I thought. Relating to that, though, I think Chapter 1 stayed in because it's the only inkling of how much bad is going on outside Hogwarts. Otherwise the focus stays tightly on the school. I kind of wished for a little more physical destruction of the school at the end, but that's just me and my gothic sensibilities.

The fact that Umbridge is still employed at the MoM after sending dementors against Harry and Dudley moves her from Condie-analog to Rumsfeld-analog in my brain, and does even more to underscore the dark grey evil of the Ministry than Shunpike's imprisonment.

Kernel of an idea, not well-formed: it's always struck me how like D&D adventures these stories are. Beyond wondering if Rowling games or if both media pull from the same sources (and they do), I note that both have excited tremendous furor in the Christian community, with allegations that they promote witchcraft/devil-worship. Most Christians aren't overly concerned, but there's this minority that seems to get really scared of quest/heroic fantasy, and I wonder why?

The thing that I like most about these books, good or bad, is that they make me feel young again. Reading them, I can remember what it was like when friends were "best" and enemies could be defeated, when crushes were exhilirating (heck, even what it was like to *have* crushes), and problems were as finite and tackleable as homework. I don't know when I got so jaded and cynical and old, but it's nice to have the scales fall from my psyche for a bit.