Thursday, August 25, 2005

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Ramblings

The last of transfers. Also check out my deviantart account. Obssessed with HP.


EDIT:

Had Snape decided not to kill Dumbledore, he would have died. As he made an "Unbreakable Vow" (must fullfill ALL the clauses...or else) with Narcissa Malfoy. Putting my theory aside, it would have meant that Snape simply chose his life over Dumbledore's (the Headmaster was wandless and probably dying then because of drinking god-knows-what from that cave), quite a "heartless" choice, but the most logical *if you catch my meaning*. Snape is one of the most brilliant minds in the series, probably surpassing even Dumbledore and Voldemort. He actually reminds me of Karla the Grey Witch from The Record of Lodoss War. Neither belonging to the light or the darkness, just concerned with maintaining balance between the two.

And who the hell was R.A.B.??? My Guess would be Regulus Black.

Oh, I also liked the bits with Luna Lovegood. I like Luna's character, kind of reminds me of myself when I was younger (and even until now). That part with her being the commentator for the Quidditch match was positively hilarious. "Loser's Lurgy"! :lol:

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Just finished reading Half-Blood Prince. The sixth book undoubtedly cleared some issues, particularly those frequently discussed in fandom, some silly examples:

-Harry paired with...everyone else (yes, that includes Remus Lupin to Grawp the Giant). It's now officially Ginny.

-Hermione paired with...everyone else (including Severus Snape! - aack! eeek! and to the side of, ummmmm...NO!!- funny how and where these people get their ideas!). Now we know that it is Ron.

But left some really interesting questions (which I hope will be answered on Book Seven). Like the loyalty of Severus Snape. Just some thought, when Dumbledore said, "Please...Severus..." was he asking Snape to kill him? Or was it the obvious, pleading Snape NOT to kill him? And what about that Phoenix-like phenomena during the funeral? Is Albus Dumbledore really gone? (we know he's physically gone, but what about?). But then maybe, like Harry, I cannot simply accept the fact one of the greatest wizards of all time was gone and that Albus made a terrible mistake of trusting Snape (after all he's only human, wizard or not).

Back to my first theory. Why would Dumbledore ask for something like that? First, as a sort of a final, grand lesson for Harry. At the last part of HBP, Harry realized that he can't forever depend on other people to protect him from Voldemort. Like the book said "the last of his great protectors were gone". On OotP (Order of the Pheonix), JK Rowling gave light to the fact that Harry's "protectors" were also like him...human. Starting with the attack on Professor McGonagall (which left her on the Infirmary for days), the general helplessness everyone else felt when Dolores Umbridge (a very loathsome character indeed!) and the Ministry of Magic took over because Dumbledore was in hiding (after false accusations of inventing false accusations - you know, he sided with Harry while everyone else thinks that the-boy-who-lived has gone quite mad)!

Anyway, back to Snape (I keep getting derailed), it's still very difficult to judge, much more hate him. Given the context of his childhood (there are plenty of clues), abusive muggle father, apparently weak pure-blood mother, bullied at school, the list could go on. Actually, like the book mentioned, Snape has a lot of similarity to Voldemort. But what about Harry? He was abused and neglected as a child (though not as worse compared to the previous two), but still managed to show fairness (even to those who don't deserve it, like Peter Pettigrew), rationale, compassion and kindness? Although he loses it occasionally. How far does one person's experience influence his/her choices in life?

And what about innate personality characteristics and family background? Tom Riddle showed an alarming lack of conscience even at such a young age. He actually reminded me of "The Poisoner...", an article about a young psychopath (he started misdeeds at the tender age of 7! -and yes, his family was perfectly normal) I've read at CrimeLibrary.com, it goes like this, the psycopath's sister told him that perhaps he should go out more and meet friends, and here was his answer: "Nothing like that would help. You see, there is a terrible coldness inside me." It was both chilling and sad. When asked if he felt remorse for his victims (including his family), he replied. "No. I would be a hypocrite if I said yes. What I feel is in the emptiness of my soul." See? Even the person was aware that something is missing inside him. That must be the case with Voldemort. He never had friends because he didn't feel the need for them. And no amount of counseling and coaxing would make him change. He was a person literally born "without a soul". And don't forget the history of mental illness in his mother's family (a result of in-breeding). Like psycopaths, he can only "imitate" human feeling (and believe me true psychos are extremely good at this), and there is no use telling him that whatever he's doing is wrong, because he doesn't and won't understand. Ever. What I'm talking about are extremely rare cases. Most are still treatable.

Ah! derailed once more! Back to Snape, I'd rather believe him to be on Dumbledore's side. But of course, there's always the possiblity that he was nothing more than a selfish coward (but then, that place was currently occupied by Peter Pettigrew). He's extremely skilled in Occlumency. And what about this Snape-Lily connection I read on many fandoms?? Remember, Snape never passed off a chance to throw insults at Harry, particularly about his father. But not one about Harry's mother?? I find that a bit off. And then there was Snape arguing with Dumbledore a few nights before the Tower Fisaco.

And about the matter of him helping Narcissa Malfoy. Again, I suppose it goes back to Snape's troubled childhood. I actually like Severus Snape because he is a morally ambiguous (sp?) character.

HBP Bits I liked best (because i loved the book):

-Fleur still determined to marry Bill, even after he was attacked by Fenrir Greyback (which left the eldest Weasly less...desirable -physically-).
-Tonks never took a liking for Sirius after all, it was in fact, Remus Lupin! (who would have guessed!?)
-All the Ron-Hermione, Harry-Ginny bits. I found them all very amusing.
-All of Harry's lessons with Dumbledore. Especially all the explanations about Voldemort's differences and similarities with Harry. I got a bit teary eyed. *shame*
-All the "Ron-was-poisoned" scenes.
-Ron and Hermione's decision to stick with Harry even if he decides to leave Hogwarts to hunt for the remaining Horcruxes.

And to address a fan's comment about how Harry was less sad about Dumbledore's passing, than about Sirius; I disagree. Just because someone isn't moaning and screaming that doesn't mean that he/she isn't deeply affected. Besides I don't think a man such as Dumbledore would have liked that. A few words before signing-off: *blubber, oddment, tweak*.

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