Rereading/Rewatching the Harry Potter Series
Damn. I never analyzed it to that degree, but you're 100% right. Interesting concept for a fanfic AU – how might things have played out differently if that inciting incident hadn't happened?
I'm officially done with HBP and ready to move on to Deathly Hallows. I probably won't start it tonight (writing/other things to do), though I'll update with some initial thoughts tomorrow.
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Quote from The Gestalt Prince on January 13, 2023, 3:02 amThinking about how the books presented it, and it's been a while since I read the Harry/Ginny stuff, I don't really remember there being anything between them prior to this book. I mean, Ginny had a celebrity crush on Harry, which worked out due to her brother being Harry's best friend and also Harry having saved her life in the past, but it wasn't really based on anything other than that.
And just on the canon pairings in general: I'm almost tempted to make a canon pairing post, not really to say anything, but just to figure out which ones actually work and which ones... don't.
Well, I have never had any real opinion on Harry and Ginny. It just is what it is. For me, Ginny Weasley is an entertaining, but not particularly fascinating, character.
As for there being no real foundation for a long-term relationship, that may well be true. But one thing Harry was continually said to be attracted to was Ginny Weasley's sense of humour. I remember seeing this in HBP VI (my favourite), and also in an explanation about the pairing online.
Harry himself has quite a black sense of humour, for understandable reasons. Cho Chang didn't appear to have much of a sense of humour, though one might argue that there were extenuating reasons for that. Furthermore, Ginny Weasley did show herself to be willing to defend Harry no matter what, including her rather questionable defence of Harry after the Sectumsempra incident, to the point of being rude to Hermione. So she wasn't entirely shallow; she was willing to stand up for him, even when it was unpopular.
As for the foundations of Ginny Weasley's attraction to Harry Potter, I again have no opinion, but I wouldn't necessarily dismiss the importance of Harry Potter saving her life at such a young age, not least because her former crush was already in existence. It wasn't Harry's job to do that, but once again, Dumbledore's dereliction of duty left him no option. So if I were more invested in the two of them, I can make a case for Ginny Weasley using that as justification for keeping her hopes alive.
Quote from Heatherlly on January 13, 2023, 11:24 pmChapter 24 - Sectumsempra
Speaking of Gryffindor recklessness, this is one of the most egregious examples. It's only a matter of luck (e.g. snake knowing the countercurse) that prevented Draco from being killed. It's also disappointing that he didn't fully own up to what he'd done. I realize he was trying to avoid/minimize punishment, but if there's any situation where he should've accepted the full consequences, it's this one
(Presumably Snape knowing the countercurse?)
The imagery in this scene is brilliant. Blood coming out like flowers, if I remember correctly.
I'll have to reread HBP to see what I think of Harry Potter's reaction to this, but he was very lucky that he wasn't expelled. However, I think all of this was necessary for demonstrating 1)- how much of Draco's provocation spanning years had worn away Harry's natural moral filter and 2)- Harry's increasing obsession with a prophecy for which he has not been given full information.
Quote from Heatherlly on January 10, 2023, 12:17 amChapter 12 - Professor Umbridge
"We're not going to use magic?" Ron ejaculated loudly.
Puzzling choice of dialogue tag. Quite popular several decades ago, but in a book aimed at children, confusing, especially given the common definition.
Yeah, I found another instance of it at the end of HBP:
“Snape!” ejaculated Slughorn, who looked the most shaken, pale and sweating. “Snape! I taught him! I thought I knew him!”
That one's even worse considering the shaking and sweating. 😂 Seriously though, couldn't she have just used "exclaimed"?
Oh, and this from Professor Trelawney:
…compared to the pushing, thrusting young man who was prepared to listen at keyholes — Harry, dear?”
Don't get me wrong: I'm all about Snape doing some pushing and thrusting. You're right though – a bit unnerving to read in a YA/children's book. 😂
Must be some sort of wizarding disorder
Quote from Heatherlly on January 14, 2023, 10:36 amYeah, I found another instance of it at the end of HBP:
“Snape!” ejaculated Slughorn, who looked the most shaken, pale and sweating. “Snape! I taught him! I thought I knew him!”
That one's even worse considering the shaking and sweating.
Seriously though, couldn't she have just used "exclaimed"?
Exclamation-Induced Ejaculation Syndrome is no joke; one in twenty wizards suffers from it every year.
Quote from The Gestalt Prince on January 14, 2023, 4:35 pmMust be some sort of wizarding disorder
Exclamation-Induced Ejaculation Syndrome is no joke; one in twenty wizards suffers from it every year.
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Chapter 11 - The Bribe
I fucking love Harry in this chapter. Calling Lupin out for his cowardly, deadbeat dad bullshit – I am here for it. I just finished writing a different version of this scene for my current WIP, and yeah… it's so intensely satisfying when Harry goes off on him.
Purely in canon though, this is the scene I always point to when people act like Lupin was a saint. Of course, we know he wasn't plenty of other reasons, but (at least to me) this scene is blatant proof of just how selfish/weak he can be.
A couple other things I want to comment on…
- I love the Spinner's End chapter in the last book because we get to see Snape from an objective (i.e. non-Harry) POV. I'd forgotten about the first chapter in this book, which again shows how much of a badass Snape is. Voldemort is his fucking boggart, the thing he fears most, yet he's completely nonchalant, playing the most dangerous wizard in living memory like a goddamn fiddle.
- That said, the part with Charity and what happens to her makes me hurt for him. She was his colleague, which means they had to have some sort of relationship… having to sit there and do nothing while she begged him for help had to be deeply painful.
- I love Dudley's behavior toward Harry in their final scene. I've commented before that I would've liked to see more of an arc with the Dursleys… this is a prime example, and I wish it had happened a couple years earlier so it could've grown from there.
- Killing Hedwig was awful and completely unnecessary. More than a decade after my first read, I'm still mad about that.
That's all I can think of for now. Back to reading!
So, the tale of me and Book Seven goes: I began it, got mad that Hedwig died, watched the movies instead, skimmed the rest, then reread The Prince's Tale and the Epilogue obsessively. If Hedwig had to die, then it could have happened near the end of the book. I guess the most charitable interpretation must be that Harry needed another painful loss to push him towards the final battle.
Random thought: I know Harry questions Dumbledore in this book due to the stuff he finds out about his past, but what about Dumbledore and Snape? He doesn't seem to have any curiosity as to why Dumbledore trusted Snape so much, or how he (as far as Harry knows) got it so wrong. Maybe it's because I am so focused on Snape, but I don't know… it seems odd that this wasn't really explored or discussed.
