Rereading/Rewatching the Harry Potter Series
In terms of the ending, I think Rowling wasted Barty as a villain. Not that he did a poor job (he's shown to be the most capable of Voldemort's servants by far), but she killed him off via Dementor's Kiss. Had Barty survived and been one of the Death Eaters to escape Azkaban, I think he'd have been Harry's biggest threat.
Chapter 11 - The Sorting Hat's New Song
"Did everyone see that Grubbly-Plank woman?" asked Ginny. "What's she doing back here? Hagrid can't have left, can he?"
"I'll be quite glad if he has," said Luna. "He isn't a very good teacher, is he?"
LOL, I love Luna. Preach!
Other observations (so far):
- I wish the Dursleys had more of a character arc. Reading about them being shitty to Harry year after year becomes tiresome/uninteresting. I know we see progress near the end of the series (mostly with Dudley), but I would've loved to see more of a gradual build, one where all three of them let go of their resentment and accept Harry for who he is. I think this would've been a nice touch, especially since (for the most part) Muggles are depicted as shitty and/or irrelevant. It would've been nice to see more of a bridge between the two worlds, one in which the Dursleys learn that magic can be good as well as evil and that those who practice it aren't so different than them.
- Molly is awfully hard on Sirius, isn't she? I'd forgotten some of the specifics, but that's one of the reasons she rubs me the wrong way.
- I love Luna. Did I mention that?
Anyway, back to reading. Feel free to chime in with your own thoughts!
Chapter 12 - Professor Umbridge
"We're not going to use magic?" Ron ejaculated loudly.
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My favorite thing about Order of the Phoenix is (surprise, surprise) getting a deeper look into Snape's character. I love his confrontation with Sirius when he comes to Grimmauld Place to tell Harry about Occlumency's lessons – he knows just how to get under Sirius's skin, which is glorious to read. I realize Harry uses this as a reason to blame Snape for Sirius's death later on, but in my opinion, it was well deserved (especially since Sirius repeatedly provoked him).
Chapter 28 - Snape's Worst Memory
As tragic as that memory is, I'm glad that Harry is able to see Snape in this context. It shows that he too is human and vulnerable, and of course, it also shows that James and crew were way more flawed than Harry has been led to believe. I like what it shows about Harry's character, too… it's just a shame that Snape jumps to the worst possible conclusions.
On SWM (the chapter, not the memory itself): This is about the part where Fred and George shove Montague into the Vanishing Cabinet, where the latter is trapped for about a day before Apparating. The Apparition almost kills him, due to him being lodged inside a toilet. There's more, but I'm going to save that for a later time.
- For now, let me just say that Fred and George could have killed someone, whether intentionally or not, and barring Montague's Apparition; they threw him into a Vanishing Cabinet that was damaged. From the wiki:
- "If one cabinet was broken, a transferred object was trapped in a kind of limbo; repairing it seemed to be a very difficult task, as Draco Malfoy spent an entire school year with instructions from Borgin to accomplish."
On the memory itself: obligatory "fuck James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin (only a little, but he's a moral coward), and Peter Pettigrew".
I never paid all that much attention to Fred and George, so I never really thought about that. You're absolutely right, though – some of their actions went way beyond harmless pranks.
That said, they're Gryffindors. We all know Gryffindors can endanger others with impunity as long as they're likable/popular characters.
Chapter 37 - The Lost Prophecy
I knew Severus had tried to intervene to protect Sirius and Harry, but I'd forgotten how much he did. He really is blameless in this situation… also frustrating (as usual) that he doesn't receive the credit he deserves.
One more chapter before I start HBP. Really excited for that one!
Oh right, I completely forgot about Hermione permanently scarring Marietta Edgecombe using a magical contract and a jinx (Dark Magic) because Marietta was worried about her mother's place at the Ministry. As Dark Magic was involved, yeah, these scars (from boils, so that's fucking painful) are never going away.
Not to mention the fact that, when Cho rightfully calls Hermione out for not at least warning them about the jinx (you know, for the sake of transparency and letting them know how serious this group is), Harry backs Hermione up and thinks it was good; this causes their breakup.
Not only am I siding with Cho, but I'm also absolutely siding against Harry and Hermione; this is disgusting behavior and a disgusting sentiment to have.
Exactly, which underscores my earlier point. It's not treated like Dark magic when a Gryffindor does it. If someone like Draco had cast the same spell, we both know it would've been framed very differently.
Also, Cho is awesome, and you're right that they did her dirty. I also didn't like the way Harry treated her on their date… I know 15-year-old boys can be clueless, but there's a difference between clueless and callous. Making snarky remarks about her crying was especially offputting. Her boyfriend was murdered, FFS, and it hadn't even been a year since that happened.
Overall, Harry has an major attitude problem in this book. I realize he's under a lot of stress, but the way he takes it out on the people around him makes it hard to be sympathetic at times.
Oh, and one last thing…
It's hypocritical of him to blame Snape for having a go at Sirius (supposedly contributing to his death) when Molly did the same damn thing. Hell, I'd say Molly's criticisms were worse, considering that Sirius never attacked her personally or tried to provoke her.
Chapter 02 - Spinner's End
Other than The Prince's Tale, this is my favorite chapter in the entire series. I love it for so many reasons, but most of all, (I cannot stress this enough) I appreciate the objective POV. We almost always see Snape through the "Harry filter", a character who is clearly biased against him. I feel that this chapter offers a more straightforward POV – it's fascinating to compare the (often subtle) differences.
One that often sticks out to me (which I've mentioned in a different thread) is the physical description when Snape first opens the door:
"A sliver of a man could be seen looking out at them, a man with long black hair parted in curtains around a sallow face and black eyes."
From this POV, Snape is pale with long black hair and black eyes. There's no mention of an overly large, hooked nose, greasy hair, or yellow, crooked teeth. Of course, that doesn't mean he didn't have those things, but it does point to Harry's bias. He dislikes Snape, so he focuses on and perhaps even exaggerates his physical flaws. The fact that they're not even mentioned here would suggest that they aren't as noticeable to an objective observer.
As far as descriptive similarities… I do like that his sarcasm (and coldness) remain intact. However, I appreciate the differences between how he treats each character (Wormtail, Bellatrix, and Narcissa). One thing that drives me nuts with the anti-Snape contingent (and even some fans) is the perception that he was rude/shitty to everyone. That wasn't the case, nor would he have succeeded as a spy (or even a teacher) if it had been. In this case, one could argue that his )somewhat softer) behavior toward Narcissa as part of the act, and I'm sure it is to some degree. But even with other adults (i.e. his colleagues), he's shown to be reasonably civil/respectful.
This also extends to the students, because I don't think it's as simple as "Snape favors Slytherins and is harsh to everyone else". Sure, he's rough on Harry and his friends, but we all know there are reasons for his negative reactions to Harry/anyone connected with him. So, is it really that he's just a dick to non-Slytherin students? Or are people just basing that assumption on specific circumstances where he's naturally more irritable?
Don't get me wrong – I'm not justifying his treatment of Harry, Hermione, Neville, etc. I just think it's shortsighted to assume he's that harsh with everyone, considering he has specific reasons for behaving that way with those specific people.
Moving on…
It goes without saying, but Snape is an absolute badass in this chapter. More than anywhere else in the books, it shows how clever and quick witted he is, how effortlessly he's able to manipulate a situation to suit him. The way he gains the advantage over Bellatrix is masterful, not to mention crucial for the plot line. It proves that he was the only one who could've done what he did (successfully hoodwinking Voldemort), giving us a taste of exactly how he did it.
Anyway, enough raving for now. On to the next chapter!
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Chapter 08 - Snape Victorious
The first time I read this chapter, I was so happy that Snape was finally going to be able to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. That announcement is still one of my favorite moments – it was a pleasure to read it again.
Also…
I said that PoA was my favorite and HBP was my second favorite, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to reverse that. There are just so many different threads that I love in this book, and features Snape even more than I remembered. It also (at least so far) has really good pacing – unlike GoF, the early chapters (i.e. before they get to Hogwarts) never feel tedious or long-winded.
