Okay... a little over half done. Is it just me or is this book, so far, all about the brimming relationships of Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione? I mean, I'm loving the book, but where's the purpose? The great goal? You know, like finding the sorcerer's stone? Finding the Prizoner of Azkaban...the chamber of secrets...winning the Triwizard Tournament...know what I mean? I feel like I'm reading a romance novel...so far.
Okay... a little over half done. Is it just me or is this book, so far, all about the brimming relationships of Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione? I mean, I'm loving the book, but where's the purpose? The great goal? You know, like finding the sorcerer's stone? Finding the Prizoner of Azkaban...the chamber of secrets...winning the Triwizard Tournament...know what I mean? I feel like I'm reading a romance novel...so far.
Kris
There isn't really a "great goal" in this one as I read it, it's more about setting up book 7. Other than the death, it's basically setting the scene for what Harry needs to do in the next book. Other than that it's someone else going out getting a horcrux, some school stuff, and Harry going out briefly to get something that isn't a horcrux anyway.
But away from the "action" it sets everything up nicely for the grand finale, finding out what's really going on with Snape, having a better idea of what Harry has to do in book 7, and getting more background info.
My feeling is that once book 7 is out these two will be better seen as two parts of the same story rather than self contained but related adventures as in the previous books. But because it's the end it's too big to be contained in one book, so it's been split.
Not to say that it isn't a good read and doesn't set things up nicely, but I'm not sure it's best read as a stand alone story.
I agree, YP...any Harry Potter book is a great read. This one just seems to meander a little more than the others.
I'm about 3/4 through now and I just told my DD, in an attempt to get her to actualy read the book, "Ron just told Hermione, 'I love you, Hermione.'" But I told her that she'd have to read the book to know why he said it. At eleven years old, she could definitely handle the reading, but the size of the HP books, I think, are a little intimidating for her. Maybe this will get her to pick up the book and read it now... Little does she know that, although we all know Ron loves Hermione, he said it this time because she fixed his DADA essay from the trick quill he'd been using from his brothers's store. Whatever I have to do to get her to read...
Anyhow...I'm just to the spot where Harry found out that Malfoy is using the secret room to do his deeds in.
Maybe Lily had Snape's book too when she took Potions. That's not too far-fetched, I think.
I definitely think there is something more to Snape. Dumbledore is not the pleading type and I'm sure Snape did it out of mercy than revenge.
It's about time she wrote about Ron/Hermione. I love this love/hate Princess Leia/Han Solo thing going on w/ them and who didn't see Ginny/Harry from the get-go? I thought that awhile ago. It's like this Daniel/Vala thing currently going on on Stargate SG-1. Love it.
Do you think Dumbledore will pull an Obi-Wan and give Harry advice from beyond the grave?
Voldemort's curse against the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher rings true. Snape was only in it for one year.
Maybe Lily had Snape's book too when she took Potions. That's not too far-fetched, I think.
Except that Lily and Snape were in the same year at Hogwarts . . . So I don't think he would have given her the book he was using! My guess is that Snape liked her because she was good at potions too.
I think that Snape liked Lily because she was good at potions and because she was nice to him. If I remember correctly (I may not), didn't she stop James from tormenting Snape in the Order of the Phoenix? They never did say how Lily and James ended up together because in that memory, she hated him.
Also, I think Dumbledore will help Harry (like Obi Wan) either from his portrait or from Fawkes. Someone on one of the forums said that portraits don't have their owner's memories but it seemed like the portraits of the previous headmasters kept saying things like "well when I was headmaster" and things of that nature. I don't have the other books to check that out.
Also, if RAB is indeed Regulus Black like we all think...then isn't that weird? I though that in the OOTP it said he was just young and naive and not even worth Voldermolt's time to kill and he was able to get the horcrux by himself and then was killed by a lowly deatheater??
Another thing, what's the deal with all the spider references? Snape was living on "spinner's end" or something like that, Harry compared Slughorn to a spider, Dumbledore had spiders on his hat while in the Weasley's shed, Aragog died...
What do you all think? I read some of the interview with Rowling on mugglenet and it is very interesting. Good questions and answers all around. Interesting that she wouldn't answer either question on what Dumbledore's boggart would be or on what he would see in the Mirror of Erised.
I think in the interview Rowling basically said that RAB is Regulus. Don't forget that all the info we have about Regulus is what Sirius thought -- he thought that Regulus was young and naive, etc., which doesn't necessarily mean it was true. After all, Sirius hated his whole family, right?
And you're right, Lily protected Snape in the memory -- but then he called her a mudblood, so who knows? My guess is he was trying to not look like too much of a wuss for having to have a girl save him.
As for the portrait, I sure hope it has memories! Then Dumbledore can at least clear up what happened w/Snape.
I noticed that about the spiders too. I don't know if it had a purpose though.
Regarding spiders: When I was in English 101, I mentioned in a writing about spiders under the dock while trying to retrieve a ring I'd lost and the professor told me that spiders are very 'fruedian' and used by many authors to instill a sense of fear and ickiness or a fear to be overcome to get to a goal or to accomplish something. Maybe this is why she (JKR) uses them so much in her HP books. This was certainly the case in CofS with Ron plainly afraid of the spiders and going through it anyway to get to the main goal.
In Philosophers Stone, Dumbledore said he'd see himself holding a pair of wooley Socks. but thenagain that's what he said to an 11 year old Wizard.
the Mugglenet/the-leaky-cauldron interview was GREAT Is part 2 up?
Is it possible that Dumbledore has a Horcrux himself? We don't know much about his past and it is very possible, while reluctantly, he may have killed someone during the war... Just a thought.
I seriously doubt that Dumbledore has a Horcrux, considering how he described separating your soul as "against nature itself" or something like that and seemed to think it was a disgusting idea. That and I don't think killing someone automatically gives you a Horcrux -- I think some complicated dark magic has to be performed as well.
It would be nice to think he's not dead, but unfortunately I think he's gone. However, I'm guessing there will be something like in Chamber of Secrets, where Harry showing loyalty to Dumbledore made Fawkes come and save him, so Dumbledore's not totally gone in that sense.
I think that Harry is a horcrux. I think that Voldemort was going to kill Harry and take something in the Potter's house for the horcrux, but when he couldn't kill Harry, he got flustered, couldn't find the object in the Potter house (or something like that) and then Harry became the horcrux by mistake. That's why he has so many of Voldemort's 'gifts', like parseltongue and the sorting hat wanting to put him in Slytherin. That type thing.
And...I like whoever suggested that Dumbledore comes back because of his pheonix thing. Just like a soap opera...nobody's ever truly 'dead'.
Question,
I can't seem to find time to read through all the forums about everyone's theories so this may be dumb....but who did the sorting hat belong to?? I don't have the copies of the other books in the house and I thought somewhere (in a Sorting Hat song or maybe in Dumbledore's office, can't remember) they said who took the hat off so that everyone would be sorted...maybe it was in a class when everyone asked about the different houses...I can't remember...darn old age. Was that Gryffindor?? If it was, then I think that is the Horcrux because one of the signifcant things for Voldemort was being put into Slytherin even though he wasn't a pure blood. Plus he was in Dumbledore's office at least once after school to ask for a job.
I know, if I'm wrong about who the hat belonged to then it's a totally dumb theory...can someone enlighten me?
Whatever I have to do to get her to read...
So I don't think he would have given her the book he was using! 
