The First (Semi) Coherent Thoughts of Clare
Saturday, 21 June 2003 16:30![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
apollaI thought I'd post some of my first thoughts now that I've had some sleep and have calmed down slightly. My stomach still feels clenched and horrible like it has since I got the book in my hands at about 12:38 this am.
* The howler sent to Petunia doesn't seem very Dumbledoric, but I suppose he'd do anything to keep Harry safe. It just didn't seem his style, is all.
* This isn't going to mean much to most of you, but Dung Fletcher is sooo Derek Trotter out of Only Fools and Horses. Fell of the back of a broomstick indeed! Ladies and gentlemen: Dung is the archetype of the Cockney Wideboy. Dodgy dealings babes!
* The Blacks being a dark pureblood family. I always kinda thought Sirius was pureblooded simply because being otherwise was never mentioned. Never thought his entire family was dark though. Not quite all, though, which I think puts yet more emphasis on Our Own Choices.
* Narcissa is Sirius' cousin. That's really buggered up the HP DDD sequel, you know. Where am I going to find a best friend for Richard Potter now?
* Poor Harry! He's got some real anger going there. I must admit that it got wearing at one point- was starting to sound a bit Whiny!Anakin for my liking, especially the way he kept biting Hermione's head off. But I guess he really is a teenager and all that stuff.
* Thestrals. How cool are they? Unpleasant but cool.
* Luna Lovegood. Not sure what to make of her. I like her woefully obvious Ron Thing, but other than that... Really not sure what to make of her- she reminded me a bit too much of some of the worse Mary-Sues I've come across.
* Fred and George. Gred and Forge. Oh how I love them. The swamp thing is something I aspired to at school. They were just fantastic- the joke shop is going to be fabulous I'm sure, and I think they'll be a great asset to the Order very soon. Fantastic use of comic relief by JK at times, too.
* I cannot express my deep feelings of hatred for Dolores Umbridge. And did the 'new regime' with heavy Ministry supervision remind anyone else of certain lessons of history from about sixty years ago? Although it was amusing at times, that was, I felt, a very dark element to the story. I almost thought at one point that Mudbloods were going to be forced into separate lessons or something. Although of course, 'Inquisitor' also sounds very Catholic and Spanish, which isn't something I'm expert on (I know you're shocked but live with it) so maybe there's more paralells there.
* Go the Sorting Hat! Nice song this year.
* Angelina. Though a minor character, I couldn't help feel for her- she's Quidditch captain and she's got to deal with losing three of her players.
* Not sure how I feel about the Ron as Keeper thing. I think JKR did pretty well by having him be rubbish and then get better at the end. Liked that a lot, although I can't help but wonder why she had Harry and Hermione miss the game. Wonder if that's important or if I'm just a mad shipper with sleep deprivation.
* Snape's Worst Memory. I was so glad to see that James Potter was once an arrogant little git, but just as glad that Remus & Sirius managed to convince Harry that he wasn't all bad. It was always going to be bad if Harry ended up deifying his dad. Loved also Feisty!Lily and Smitten!James. I can now imagine him literally pining for her until 7th Year. Seventh year would also explain why she wasn't really part of the MWPP sort of thing, like so many ficcers try to do. Seventh year... the time I also thing Harry & Hermione will finally get together. Interesting... :D Am mad sleep deprived shipper.
* Anyone feel bad for Prof. Grubbly-Plank? She seems fairly nice and a good teacher, but Harry's determined to love Hagrid. Which is good but not for Prof G-P.
* Harry and Cho. I don't really remember much of the end of the book (after a certain moment it starts to blur a bit) but I found it at once quite cute and yet odd. I felt that the subject of Cedric might have been brought up more, but I suppose if Harry doesn't want to talk... LOVED the JealousofHermione!Cho moment though. Just what we've all been saying about girls, Harry and his best pal all along!
* Ginny, Andrew Corner and Dean. Liked that whole thing actually. Now she's got over her bloody crush (The dancing girls can come in now) she can actually be a character, who I liked quite a lot.
* Sirius. Sirius. Sirius. Sirius. I cannot believe she did that. There were only two characters I didn't want her to kill- Hermione and Sirius. I understand why JKR would want to kill him off. I understand why Voldemort would choose him, but WHY OH WHY OH WHY? He was becoming such a great character and again, it's wrecked my HP DDD sequel plans. Of all the characters she had to kill off, she killed the only one who might have been able to give Harry the semblance of a stable family life? What pisses me off most of all, and hugely is that he died still on the run, still a convict. It would've been nice to see him cleared first. That might've been actually crueller, but I don't care.
* Sirius and his James/Harry issues. Liked that a lot, especially after the small amount of Sirius/Harry stuff I've read deals with that kind of thing. Was potential there.
* Lack of any real shipping. There were moments for R/Hr and there were H/Hr moments, but nothing concrete. I'm sure the Good Ship Tree People will find something absolutely irrefutable to prove themselves right, but I'm glad there was nothing totally obvious.
* Lack of Dumbledore. I understand why he was very much sidelined this book but I didn't like it. I think he's a cool character. Was sobbing at the end partly through Sirius being Dead (Sob) but also because of the Dumbledore conversation. That was bad. He made mistakes because he cared too much. Sob again.
* Percy. It was always quite obvious that he's got one hell of an ambitious streak, but I am disappointed that his Weasleyness wasn't stronger. Hopefully now that everyone's blinkers are off he'll understand.
* Zacharias Smith. What is his game?
* Cho and her pal- what's going on there- where did Cho's change of heart come from?
* The scene in the Longbottoms' ward. I did start crying then, actually. I know how Neville feels. Sort of. He's a great character and BOY did he show why he's in Gryffindor. It could be Neville Longbottom and the Order of the Phoenix. I wouldn't mind. Interesting though, that it should be those two boys- Harry used Nev's name on the bus that time.... Clues! She's been planting bloody clues! Did anyone else think that the plant was going to be more of a thing? Or was it and I didn't notice? It seemed odd that Nev should have one and mention it and it was the password for the tower all year. Seriously though- I really adored that hospital scene. I lovedf, absolutely loved how Neville's Gran said she was proud of her boy and his wife. It would've been nice to see Nev talking to them more, perhaps later. I understand why he'd be so quiet at that point. Had my friends turned up when I was visiting my grandmother, I think even I'd have gone silent. Well, Nev and his gran are proud of his parents, who are as much heroes as James and Lil. Seeing more and more connections between the boys now. Maybe Alice and Lil were in the same pre-natal classes and stuff.... :D
* Seamus. I'm disappointed that it was Irish Boy who was so vocally against Harry because aside from the obvious Him Being Irish thing, I always thought that the Gryffs would stick together better. I'm glad he saw the light. I suppose when the newspapers and your mama are telling you something, you'll believe it if you want to.
* The end. Was a bit odd if you ask me, but I was glad to see everyone meeting him off the train. Perhaps to make sure he was safely passed into the Dursleys' 'care'. Wish Sirius had been there... Seriously, I did like that scene, although the very end was quite odd. I mean for a start- he got a kiss on the cheek off Hermione when Cedric died, surely Sirius biting it deserves a proper snog! Liked how Harry got to take the lead though. Maybe he'll finally have a half decent summer- and he's guaranteed mail now.
* My final point because my hands are stiff- I understand why everyone was so eager to believe the Prophet and the Ministry. It wasn't so much a dislike of Harry and a willingness to believe him mad or self-glorifying, it was a deep and I think rather desperate desire to believe Voldemort wasn't back. If it meant discrediting the other War Hero, Dumbledore and the young hero of the wizarding world, that's a small price to pay for blissful ignorance, and I understand why so many people did pay it. Am glad it's resolved now- although the name of the last chapter is pretty ominous to me.
I think that's all for now. I'm off to cry a bit more.
* The howler sent to Petunia doesn't seem very Dumbledoric, but I suppose he'd do anything to keep Harry safe. It just didn't seem his style, is all.
* This isn't going to mean much to most of you, but Dung Fletcher is sooo Derek Trotter out of Only Fools and Horses. Fell of the back of a broomstick indeed! Ladies and gentlemen: Dung is the archetype of the Cockney Wideboy. Dodgy dealings babes!
* The Blacks being a dark pureblood family. I always kinda thought Sirius was pureblooded simply because being otherwise was never mentioned. Never thought his entire family was dark though. Not quite all, though, which I think puts yet more emphasis on Our Own Choices.
* Narcissa is Sirius' cousin. That's really buggered up the HP DDD sequel, you know. Where am I going to find a best friend for Richard Potter now?
* Poor Harry! He's got some real anger going there. I must admit that it got wearing at one point- was starting to sound a bit Whiny!Anakin for my liking, especially the way he kept biting Hermione's head off. But I guess he really is a teenager and all that stuff.
* Thestrals. How cool are they? Unpleasant but cool.
* Luna Lovegood. Not sure what to make of her. I like her woefully obvious Ron Thing, but other than that... Really not sure what to make of her- she reminded me a bit too much of some of the worse Mary-Sues I've come across.
* Fred and George. Gred and Forge. Oh how I love them. The swamp thing is something I aspired to at school. They were just fantastic- the joke shop is going to be fabulous I'm sure, and I think they'll be a great asset to the Order very soon. Fantastic use of comic relief by JK at times, too.
* I cannot express my deep feelings of hatred for Dolores Umbridge. And did the 'new regime' with heavy Ministry supervision remind anyone else of certain lessons of history from about sixty years ago? Although it was amusing at times, that was, I felt, a very dark element to the story. I almost thought at one point that Mudbloods were going to be forced into separate lessons or something. Although of course, 'Inquisitor' also sounds very Catholic and Spanish, which isn't something I'm expert on (I know you're shocked but live with it) so maybe there's more paralells there.
* Go the Sorting Hat! Nice song this year.
* Angelina. Though a minor character, I couldn't help feel for her- she's Quidditch captain and she's got to deal with losing three of her players.
* Not sure how I feel about the Ron as Keeper thing. I think JKR did pretty well by having him be rubbish and then get better at the end. Liked that a lot, although I can't help but wonder why she had Harry and Hermione miss the game. Wonder if that's important or if I'm just a mad shipper with sleep deprivation.
* Snape's Worst Memory. I was so glad to see that James Potter was once an arrogant little git, but just as glad that Remus & Sirius managed to convince Harry that he wasn't all bad. It was always going to be bad if Harry ended up deifying his dad. Loved also Feisty!Lily and Smitten!James. I can now imagine him literally pining for her until 7th Year. Seventh year would also explain why she wasn't really part of the MWPP sort of thing, like so many ficcers try to do. Seventh year... the time I also thing Harry & Hermione will finally get together. Interesting... :D Am mad sleep deprived shipper.
* Anyone feel bad for Prof. Grubbly-Plank? She seems fairly nice and a good teacher, but Harry's determined to love Hagrid. Which is good but not for Prof G-P.
* Harry and Cho. I don't really remember much of the end of the book (after a certain moment it starts to blur a bit) but I found it at once quite cute and yet odd. I felt that the subject of Cedric might have been brought up more, but I suppose if Harry doesn't want to talk... LOVED the JealousofHermione!Cho moment though. Just what we've all been saying about girls, Harry and his best pal all along!
* Ginny, Andrew Corner and Dean. Liked that whole thing actually. Now she's got over her bloody crush (The dancing girls can come in now) she can actually be a character, who I liked quite a lot.
* Sirius. Sirius. Sirius. Sirius. I cannot believe she did that. There were only two characters I didn't want her to kill- Hermione and Sirius. I understand why JKR would want to kill him off. I understand why Voldemort would choose him, but WHY OH WHY OH WHY? He was becoming such a great character and again, it's wrecked my HP DDD sequel plans. Of all the characters she had to kill off, she killed the only one who might have been able to give Harry the semblance of a stable family life? What pisses me off most of all, and hugely is that he died still on the run, still a convict. It would've been nice to see him cleared first. That might've been actually crueller, but I don't care.
* Sirius and his James/Harry issues. Liked that a lot, especially after the small amount of Sirius/Harry stuff I've read deals with that kind of thing. Was potential there.
* Lack of any real shipping. There were moments for R/Hr and there were H/Hr moments, but nothing concrete. I'm sure the Good Ship Tree People will find something absolutely irrefutable to prove themselves right, but I'm glad there was nothing totally obvious.
* Lack of Dumbledore. I understand why he was very much sidelined this book but I didn't like it. I think he's a cool character. Was sobbing at the end partly through Sirius being Dead (Sob) but also because of the Dumbledore conversation. That was bad. He made mistakes because he cared too much. Sob again.
* Percy. It was always quite obvious that he's got one hell of an ambitious streak, but I am disappointed that his Weasleyness wasn't stronger. Hopefully now that everyone's blinkers are off he'll understand.
* Zacharias Smith. What is his game?
* Cho and her pal- what's going on there- where did Cho's change of heart come from?
* The scene in the Longbottoms' ward. I did start crying then, actually. I know how Neville feels. Sort of. He's a great character and BOY did he show why he's in Gryffindor. It could be Neville Longbottom and the Order of the Phoenix. I wouldn't mind. Interesting though, that it should be those two boys- Harry used Nev's name on the bus that time.... Clues! She's been planting bloody clues! Did anyone else think that the plant was going to be more of a thing? Or was it and I didn't notice? It seemed odd that Nev should have one and mention it and it was the password for the tower all year. Seriously though- I really adored that hospital scene. I lovedf, absolutely loved how Neville's Gran said she was proud of her boy and his wife. It would've been nice to see Nev talking to them more, perhaps later. I understand why he'd be so quiet at that point. Had my friends turned up when I was visiting my grandmother, I think even I'd have gone silent. Well, Nev and his gran are proud of his parents, who are as much heroes as James and Lil. Seeing more and more connections between the boys now. Maybe Alice and Lil were in the same pre-natal classes and stuff.... :D
* Seamus. I'm disappointed that it was Irish Boy who was so vocally against Harry because aside from the obvious Him Being Irish thing, I always thought that the Gryffs would stick together better. I'm glad he saw the light. I suppose when the newspapers and your mama are telling you something, you'll believe it if you want to.
* The end. Was a bit odd if you ask me, but I was glad to see everyone meeting him off the train. Perhaps to make sure he was safely passed into the Dursleys' 'care'. Wish Sirius had been there... Seriously, I did like that scene, although the very end was quite odd. I mean for a start- he got a kiss on the cheek off Hermione when Cedric died, surely Sirius biting it deserves a proper snog! Liked how Harry got to take the lead though. Maybe he'll finally have a half decent summer- and he's guaranteed mail now.
* My final point because my hands are stiff- I understand why everyone was so eager to believe the Prophet and the Ministry. It wasn't so much a dislike of Harry and a willingness to believe him mad or self-glorifying, it was a deep and I think rather desperate desire to believe Voldemort wasn't back. If it meant discrediting the other War Hero, Dumbledore and the young hero of the wizarding world, that's a small price to pay for blissful ignorance, and I understand why so many people did pay it. Am glad it's resolved now- although the name of the last chapter is pretty ominous to me.
I think that's all for now. I'm off to cry a bit more.