Harry Potter

[Ananas]

I thought it was much better than OOTP, and I'm a fan of that book as well. This film is going to be an interesting one to transfer to the big screen, and I think that if given to one of the Hollywood elite, it could be an absolute classic. Dumbledore's dying was probably the right thing to do (setting up for an absolutely kick ass dark final book), but doesn't it basically guarantee Harry has to survive the final book? Now I'm sure Rowling's had movie and book execs begging her to keep him alive through these seven just in case she opted to write more novels or let the whole "Expanded Universe" thing happen, but the prophecy, as it was presented in book 5, almost gave the impression that Harry would have to sacrifice himself to kill Voldemort. Now it just seems that one will kill the other, and it seems ludicrous for anyone but Harry to win. On top of that, I don't see how you can possibly kill Dumbledore and then Harry the next year, seeing they're essentially the past, present (both Dumbledore) and on top of that, future of the wizarding world.

[EWFan2004]

I just hope Dumbledore comes back as Obi Won type and helps Harry in his dreams.

[paidelr]

Yeah, I'm thinking of a "While Gandalf" type of thing happening.

[Ananas]

Have the books ever elluded to whether the portraits on the wall have all the memories and attributes of their subjects? If so, Harry may find himself on the Hogwarts grounds next year, if only to consult with his fallen headmaster.

[thuganomic]

The portraits definitely have memories and attributes. See Phineas or Sirius's mother as examples

[The Chief]

I thought this video was pretty funny. If anyone doesnt want want any spoilers on what happens in end of the book DO NOT watch this lol.

http://www.filefarmer.com/Xizer/pottercrash.MOV

[sAVE TARGET AS]

or

http://forum.ebaumsworld.com/showthread.php?t=82235

Basically, 1am when the book goes on sale, the guy with the video shouts to the kids what happens, its hilarious

"YOU BITCH! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

[K]

Ahahahahahahaha

[fourstarfizzle]

It's good just for the ending.

[Laice07]

SPOILERS

I finished the book yesterday, and loved it....though deeply saddened by the ending(which was perfectly written). I still think Snape is on the side of the order. It has been theorized that Snape is not really a death eater and that he killed Dumbledore on Dumbledore's orders. I haven't been able to find a thread about this here so please forgive me if I am repeating what has already been said.

Several Reasons to Believe This

-While dueling Voldemort at the end of Order of the Phoenix Dumbledore says that there are many things worse than death; Voldemort says that nothing is worse than death. Dumbledore says that that belief has always been his greatest weakness.

-Dumbledore is smarter and wiser than Voldemort. I think he is less likely to misread Snape.

-I don't think that Snape really likes or fits in with the Death Eaters. (Although, he doesn't really seem to like or fit in with anyone, really. Poor Snape.)

-Dumbledore pleads with Snape before he is killed. Dumbledore would not beg for his life. He is far too dignified. It would be completely out of character. Dumbledore never shows fear for his own life- he's calm fighting Voldemort in book 5. I think that he is begging a reluctant Snape to do his duty and kill him because he believes that this will somehow help with the fight against Voldemort.

-Snape is furious when Harry calls him a coward. I think that he is angry because he is doing something dangerous and courageous. Even if it was an absolutely necessary thing to do, who would have the courage to kill Dumbledore? Severus did.

Wouldn't mind if I was wrong though, Snape being really evil is pretty cool

Another reason for Snape still being on the good side is that he merely blocked Harry's spells, and did not retaliate. He did say that Harry was to be left for the Dark Lord, but he could have hurt him, or stunned him, or anything, but he didn't. He just blocked his spells.

Also after the ending of the 6th, is Draco and Snape still linked? And remember when Hagrid heard SNape and Dumbledore arguing? If you read that section again, snape clearlt disagrees what Dumbledore tells him to do(possibly killioing him), and he has stated a couple of times to harry that his life is not as important as Harry's.

On a related note, I was watching Love Actually, and when Alan Rickman came on screen, I caught myself sneering at him. That was a little off-putting.

[Ananas]

All good points, and they may turn out to be right, but I thought I'd counter them to foster some discussion.

Several Reasons to Believe This

-While dueling Voldemort at the end of Order of the Phoenix Dumbledore says that there are many things worse than death; Voldemort says that nothing is worse than death. Dumbledore says that that belief has always been his greatest weakness.

[Laice07]

True, but on a related note, Dumbledore's life would have been much more important than Snape's.

[Skummy]

To bring back the whole "children/adults" debate about this, I'll admit that I'm not a big reader any more, especially not of fantasy, but I've hated Harry Potter since it first came out. Maybe it's because by the time it came out I was already a devout follower of the Discworld series, but I just saw it as a load of over-rated nonsense.

It's fantasy-by-numbers, there's nothing remotely original or imaginative about it at all, it's a crap coming of age story with magic grafted on top to sell it to kids.

I admire the fact that it's got more children reading, but only a fraction of them, in my experience, ever read anything else. And when they do, they compare it to Potter. There was an interview with Terry Pratchett where he said that ever since Harry Potter came out, he's been accused of ripping off JK Rowling because the Discworld series has a school of wizards in pointy hats, despite the fact that the first Discworld book was written over twenty years before the first Potter book.

So...yeah, my main gripe with it comes from it's simplicity. If it makes you happy, or gets kids reading, then hurrah for Harry Potter, but all the extra crap that comes with it can fuck right off as far as I'm concerned.

[Laice07]

This is from Mugglenet:

MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling

July 16, 2005: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince publication day

Edinburgh, Scotland

Part One

WARNING: The entirety of this interview is colored by book six - which means if you don't yet want to be spoiled or haven't yet read Half-Blood Prince, reading this interview will not be good for your health. Be warned!

Emerson Spartz, MuggleNet (ES): Who do you discuss Harry Potter with?

JKR: When I'm working on it, you mean? Virtually no one, which is, for me, it's a necessary condition of work, I have this reputation for being reclusive. Now, that came, I’m not sure that it holds so true in America, but in Britain you really can’t read an article on me, and I read probably a hundredth of what's out there so I know it must be happening more, without the world reclusive being attached to my name. I’m not reclusive in the slightest. What they mean is that I'm secretive and I don’t do a lot of – I’m secretive because that for me is necessary condition of work. It's got nothing to do with the franchise, it's got nothing to do with trying to protect "the property” – I hate it being called “the property” but other people call it “the property” – it’s because I think if you discuss the work while you’re doing it you tend to dissipate the energy you need to do it.

You will meet, we've all met, a hell of a lot of people who stand in bars and discuss the novels they are writing. If they were writing they'd be at home actually writing it. Very occasionally I might tell Neil that, I say, I've had good day, or I've, you know, I wrote good joke, it made me laugh, whatever, but I would never discuss in details. And then once I’ve handed in the manuscript then my editors, and that's Emma, who is my UK editor, and Arthur, who is my American editor, they would both see the manuscript at the same time. They collaborate on what they both think about it and then they come back to me and suggest things. Of course, it’s very liberating once someone’s read it to be able to then discuss it, so you know I've kept it quiet for 18 months while I've been working and then you get this explosion, because you really want to talk to someone about it now, so Emma and Arthur are the ones who get my first effusions and then it's wonderful to hear what they think. They were both very positive about this book, they really liked it. And then we have arguments as well, obviously.

ES: This is kind of a strange question but how many times have you read your own story?

JKR: That is not a strange question, it's a very valid question because once the book is published I rarely reread. A funny thing is when I do pick up a book to check a fact which I obviously do a lot, if I start reading then I do get kind of sucked in myself and I may read several pages and then I put it away and go back to what I’m doing, but I would never, if for example I was heading to the bath, and I wanted to pick up something to read, I’d never pick up one of my own books. Therefore there are thousands of fans who know the books much better than I do. My one advantage is I know what’s going to happen, and I’ve got a lot of backstory.

Melissa Anelli, The Leaky Cauldron (MA): How many boxes is it, now, of backstory?

JKR: It really is hard to say because I’m so disorganized, but yeah, there’s boxes. It’s mainly in notebooks because the backstory is so valuable, so I mainly need that in a format I can retrieve, because I lose stuff. So, it’s harder to lose a book than it is a bit of paper.

ES: When book seven is out, will you keep the Web site open to keep answering questions?

JKR: Yeah, I don’t see the Web site closing, like on the stroke of midnight when the seventh book’s finished. No, definitely not. My feeling is, I couldn’t possibly answer all the questions, because the novel is the wrong form in which to, for example, present a catalog of your characters’ favorite colors. But people actually want to know – it’s that kind of detail, isn’t it? So, I’m never going to answer everything that an obsessive fan would want to know in the novels, and the Web site is another way of doing that.

Also I think people will continue to theorize about the characters even at the end of book seven because some people are very interested in certain characters whose past lives are not germane to the plot, they’re not central to the story, so there is big leeway there still for fanfiction, just as there is, I mean – Jane Austen, I'm a huge Jane Austen fan and you wonder about the characters lives at the end of the story. They still exist, they still live, you're bound to wonder, aren't you? But I am as sure as I can be currently that seven will be the final novel, even though I get a lot of really big puppy dog eyes. “Just one more!” Yeah, I think it will be seven.

ES: Seven books is a long series.

JKR: Yeah, exactly, I don’t think they’re going to say you wimped out, come on!

MA: If you were to write anything else on the Harry Potter series would it be about Harry Potter himself or another character or a reference book?

JKR: The most likely thing I’ve said this a few times before, would be an encyclopedia in which I could have fun with the minor characters and I could give the definitive biography of all the characters.

MA: OK, big big big book six question. Is Snape evil?

JKR: [Almost laughing] Well, you've read the book, what do you think?

ES: She's trying to make you say it categorically.

MA: Well, there are conspiracy theorists, and there are people who will claim -

JKR: Cling to some desperate hope [laughter] -

ES: Yes!

MA: Yes!

ES: Like certain shippers we know!

[All laugh]

JKR: Well, okay, I'm obviously – Harry-Snape is now as personal, if not more so, than Harry-Voldemort. I can't answer that question because it's a spoiler, isn't it, whatever I say, and obviously, it has such a huge impact on what will happen when they meet again that I can't. And let's face it, it's going to launch 10,000 theories and I'm going to get a big kick out of reading them so [laughs] I'm evil but I just like the theories, I love the theories.

ES: I know Dumbledore likes to see the good in people but he seems trusting almost to the point of recklessness sometimes.

[Laughter] Yes, I would agree. I would agree.

ES: How can someone so -

JKR: Intelligent -

ES: be so blind with regard to certain things?

JKR: Well, there is information on that to come, in seven. But I would say that I think it has been demonstrated, particularly in books five and six that immense brainpower does not protect you from emotional mistakes and I think Dumbledore really exemplifies that. In fact, I would tend to think that being very, very intelligent might create some problems and it has done for Dumbledore, because his wisdom has isolated him, and I think you can see that in the books, because where is his equal, where is his confidante, where is his partner? He has none of those things. He’s always the one who gives, he’s always the one who has the insight and has the knowledge. So I think that, while I ask the reader to accept that McGonagall is a very worthy second in command, she is not an equal. You have a slightly circuitous answer, but I can't get much closer than that.

ES: No, that was a good answer.

MA: It's interesting about Dumbledore being lonely.

JKR: I see him as isolated, and a few people have said to me rightly I think, that he is detached. My sister said to me in a moment of frustration, it was when Hagrid was shut up in his house after Rita Skeeter had published that he was a half-breed, and my sister said to me, “Why didn't Dumbledore go down earlier, why didn't Dumbledore go down earlier?” I said he really had to let Hagrid stew for a while and see if he was going to come out of this on his own because if he had come out on his own he really would have been better. "Well he's too detached, he's too cold, it's like you,” she said!" [Laughter] By which she meant that where she would immediately rush in and I would maybe stand back a little bit and say, “Let's wait and see if he can work this out.” I wouldn't leave him a week. I'd leave him maybe an afternoon. But she would chase him into the hut.

ES: This is one of my burning questions since the third book - why did Voldemort offer Lily so many chances to live? Would he actually have let her live?

JKR: Mmhm.

ES: Why?

JKR: [silence] Can't tell you. But he did offer, you're absolutely right. Don't you want to ask me why James's death didn't protect Lily and Harry? There’s your answer, you've just answered your own question, because she could have lived and chose to die. James was going to be killed anyway. Do you see what I mean? I’m not saying James wasn't ready to; he died trying to protect his family but he was going to be murdered anyway. He had no - he wasn't given a choice, so he rushed into it in a kind of animal way, I think there are distinctions in courage. James was immensely brave. But the caliber of Lily's bravery was, I think in this instance, higher because she could have saved herself. Now any mother, any normal mother would have done what Lily did. So in that sense her courage too was of an animal quality but she was given time to choose. James wasn't. It's like an intruder entering your house, isn't it? You would instinctively rush them. But if in cold blood you were told, "Get out of the way," you know, what would you do? I mean, I don't think any mother would stand aside from their child. But does that answer it? She did very consciously lay down her life. She had a clear choice -

ES: And James didn't.

JKR: Did he clearly die to try and protect Harry specifically given a clear choice? No. It's a subtle distinction and there's slightly more to it than that but that's most of the answer.

MA: Did she know anything about the possible effect of standing in front of Harry?

JKR: No - because as I've tried to make clear in the series, it never happened before. No one ever survived before. And no one, therefore, knew that could happen.

MA: So no one - Voldemort or anyone using Avada Kedavra - ever gave someone a choice and then they took that option [to die] -

JKR: They may have been given a choice, but not in that particular way.

*** Lots more to come on Wednesday and Friday - this is about a tenth of the length of the overall interview. Stay tuned!

[thuganomic]

I could have sworn he tried to use the cruciatus curse on him. I'll have to check that again.

[Ananas]

1.) The Goblet of Fire

2.) Half-Blood Prince

3.) Prisoner of Azkaban

4.) Order of The Phenoix

5.) The Sorcerers stone

6.) The Chamber of Secrets

←

[Laice07]

That's pretty much the way I see things, save Chamber of Secrets ahead of The Philosopher's Stone. I'm actually not sure whether I think HBP to be better than GOF; I'll only know that after rereading the book, which I hope to do this week.

[Ace]

1.) The Goblet of Fire

2.) Half-Blood Prince

3.) The Sorcerers stone

4.) Prisoner of Azkaban

5.) Order of The Phenoix

6.) The Chamber of Secrets

Thats my order of the books

and as for whether Snape is eveil ever since I red the book I have been thinking he is and how much I'm gonna love Harry killing him but I could also see Dumbledore laying down his life for Snape so as to kill Voldemort.

oh and screw Ron & Hermoine I wanna see Ginny and Harry get back together.

[Gongsun Zan]

On a completely random note:

In what I've come to call the Chewbacca Effect, Dumbledore's death was horribly, horribly, obvious. I think it's fairly obvious once a book mentions anything regarding a character's invincibility more than once that said character is going to get killed off at the end of the book. Personally, i think it's stupid. If you want to hint, at least do it more...subtely.

[John Stones' Paint Trophy]

I agree. When I read it through, there was obvious hints to his death.

[GoGo Yubari]

Ah, what the heck, I'll order the books too.

1. Goblet of Fire

2. Half-Blood Prince

3. Prisoner of Azkaban

4. Chamber of Secrets

5. Sorcerer's Stone/Philosopher's Stone

6. Order of the Phoenix

And since I'm a fanboy I'm all like "NOOOOO SNAPE CAN'T BE EVIL! *Sob.*", but...

yeah. This book was good. It erased all the bad taste that OotP had left in my mouth.