<p>Yes I agree about Snape being evil!</p>
<p>I don't think RAB is Regulus Black. It just doesn't seem subtle enough.</p>
<p>Maybe there are other possibilties - what if someone is known more commonly by his/her middle name? </p>
<p>Amelia Bones? She was killed after all.</p>
<p>Yeah I know it's lame. But I'm not happy with the regulus theory</p>
<p>(Posted in high school life as well)</p>
<p>The good points:
a) Snape killing Dumbledore was a pretty chilling scene....and gosh, Dumbledore just pleading like that...kinda reminded me of the Mufasa/Scar thing in The Lion King.
b) Draco's dilemma. Humanized him more in my eyes. I think he could've been a hero (as in, like Hermione, Ron, or Harry...well, on second thought, maybe not completely...he's still kinda power-hungry and elitist) if he had been born into a better family, one which did not ingrain so many bad values in him since birth. He seems to truly love his family.
c) What Harry had to do during that mission was so dreadful. Good scene as well.
d) Voldemort's past.
e) Harry's not angry anymore.</p>
<p>The bad points:
a) I didn't like the romance stuff. Lupin/Tonks, esp. was too sudden for me. And that Spider-man speech Harry gives Ginny at the end was a little annoying for me.
b) I thought Dumbledore got very careless with his last mission. I'm not sure I understand why he chose just Harry to accompany him (perhaps there's a reason, so I won't complain too much). But NO thinking ahead at all.
c) IMHO, I didn't think people reacted horrified enough to Dumbledore's murder...esp. by Snape! I dunno...seemed kinda subdued, esp. when compared to how Harry reacted to Sirius's death.</p>
<p>Besides that:
MY GOD I HATE SNAPE! I WANT TO KILL HIM! I DON'T THINK I'VE FELT SO ANTI-A FICTIONAL CHARACTER BEFORE IN MY LIFE! I felt sick after I read that scene. I reread it a couple of times to make sure it was foolproof...that Dumbledore really did get hit. I trusted Snape because Dumbledore said so! UGH! I was hoping for this great backstory which showed Snape's miserable past and how he would grudgingly work with Harry to stop Voldemort. Sure he hated Harry, sure he was a git, but I thought...ARGH! Now that there's no hope of redemption for Snape, let's hope Malfoy turns around...</p>
<p>I, too, immediately thought Regulus was RAB. I even checked back in book 5 for the paragraph where he's referenced. I think he did betray Voldemort, so he was killed.</p>
<p>What a thumping good read...can't wait for 7</p>
<p>also...</p>
<p>As much as I loved Dumbledore, I sincerely hope he's not somehow resurrected in book 7. That would be too Aslan-ish.</p>
<p>Also, as much as I want to believe Snape was only acting when he killed Dumbledore (and that Dumbledore had agreed to sacrifice himself so Snape could fulfill his vow), I highly doubt it. At the same time, Dumbledore's pleading to Snape was so...chilling and so out of character that I want it so much to have been part of a magnificent plan. I feel that at this point, Snape is beyond redemption. Redemption for Draco maybe, but Snape is disgusting. Ugh.</p>
<p>As I said before I strongly doubt Dumbledore sacrificed himself for Snape, but the way Snape killed him was...just too easy. He didn't even attempt to fight back, and everyone knows that he isn't absolutely powerless even without his wand. </p>
<p>I know I'm repeating stuff but something is weird....</p>
<p>Wait, third thought and slight change of mind...</p>
<p>Now I feel there's a slightly higher chance that Dumbledore had indeed agreed to let Snape sacrifice him. That was what the argument was about (Snape wouldn't let him do it). That's why Snape didn't stun Harry and apparate with him back to Voldemort or anything (his 'don't touch Harry, leave him to Voldemort!' did not explain why he couldn't bring Harry to him). That's why Snape hated how Harry called him a coward...because he wasn't a coward and indeed just did the worst thing in his life because Dumbledore asked him to and he obeyed (just as Harry forced that poision down his throat). That's why Dumbledore seemed to know he was going to die throughout the entire book and gave Harry just enough information to continue on without him. He even knew perfectly well what Malfoy was trying to do. Dumbledore's pleading may've been "Severus, do it!" And finally, Dumbledore finally made Snape the DADA teacher this year, knowing this would be his last year (he knew it was cursed!). He knew Snape would be gone! </p>
<p>I dunno...Snape HAD always been the character that intrigued me most. I'm hoping there's still more to come on him.</p>
<p>lol, Mirage, I just had the same reconsideration...I've decided to withhold judgement on the events of this book. Wow, I'm too Potter-obsessed...<em>sigh</em>....I think I've crossed the line. Well, I'll allow myself to behave like this for a few more days (once I get to discuss this w/ all my friends once they finish reading!). Then this obsession will fade again until a week before book 7.</p>
<p>I think the RAB = Regulus Black theory makes sense (we all know he turned on Voldemort just before his death), and I also think that Mundungus will play a greater role in the next book...I remember him stealing a goblet-type object from the Black house (he stole random unnamed objects in Order of the Phoenix, plus Harry confronted him in Hogsmeade in Half-Blood Prince)...could that be a horcrux? Kreacher also kept hiding various Black heirlooms...+ the Black family crest seems to be "important," all pureblood, at least I think Voldemort would think so...</p>
<p>7th book will be interesting.</p>
<p>I knew it said spoilers on the title and yet I plunged in here anyway.</p>
<p>I'd like to hear everyones thoughts on Percy Weasley. Do you think he'll have a bigger part in book 7?</p>
<p>I hope so. I mean, they kinda left his situation unresolved. There's gotta be a confrontation between the Weasleys sooner or later.</p>
<p>I think Bill's injury may make him come to his senses, and I bet he'll come to the wedding. He really does seem to love his brothers, as we see in Goblet of Fire when he runs, pale, to Ron as he comes out of the lake.</p>
<p>I hate snape so much! I was so sad when Dumbledore died. The way he was pleading it was like i realised Dunbledore was human like the rest of them. For some strange reason i always thought he would live forever.</p>
<p>Snape is good! He wasn't nearly as mean as a teacher as he's been before! He was acting on DD's orders! They gazed at each other and read each other's minds. That's what the argument in the forest was about---Snape having to consent to killing DD. Snape didn't even fight Harry--he could have done Crucio, gloated, screamed about how the Mudblood lover was dead at last, but no. He screamed at Harry for calling him a coward, and he just blocked Harry's spells. When someone did do Crucio, he stopped it and told them to leave it. </p>
<p><em>For the Redemption of Snape!</em></p>
<p>Someone in here previously mentioned that harry might be a horcrux and i think that is a very plausible idea. Remember how thru all the books, it is mentioned that wen voldemort tried to kill harry, he left some of himself in harry which granted harry his skill in parseltongue and his famous lightning scar. is it possible that voldemort left so much of himself that even part of his soul was remained?</p>
<p>R.A.B is OBVIOUSLY Regulus.</p>
<p>can u really be so sure, lilybloom? wen i first came upon it, i thought it might stand for regalus as well, but Rowling isnt always so predictable, is she? She had hinted someone would die in book 6 but i never thought it would never be dumbledore becuz he was the heart of the wizarding world. i thought dumbledore might die in the climax of the last book if at all. RAB however might just be a new character just like scrimgeour or slughorn. Guess we'll all have to wait like 5 years til the next book comes out. funfun.</p>
<p>Ok here's some of my thoughts:</p>
<p>-Snape will be bad. It would be far too confusing to make Snape pretend to be on Voldemort's side and do things like kill Dumbledore... I think it was important to show that even Dumbledore could be naive despite his knowledge. Nobody is safe, and I think that only adds to Voldemort's general evil nature.</p>
<p>-I think Harry Potter will find and destroy all the remaining Horcruxes and find out that he is the last one... when Voldemort attacked him and all... leaving the scar, etc. We are also never really told how Harry could speak Parseltongue, which was normally associated with evil beings. I think Voldemort is inexorably tied with Harry, much like Neo was connected to Agent Smith in the Matrix, etc. The prophecy also mentions something about how one cannot live if the other survives, etc. I think this also implies a Voldemort/Harry connection.</p>
<p>I thought it was a good book but it didn't pick up for me until Harry drank that Felix stuff to go persuade Slughorn to divulge that memory. Everything before that point was a bit slow.</p>
<p>Snape is good. The theory just works. I admit I'm stealing most of this from an entry I read on LJ... but the poster made loads of sense. Paraphrased, from what I remember, below:</p>
<p>OK, Snape had to agree to the Unbreakable Vow to 'prove' to Narcissa & Bellatrix that he was truly loyal & willing to risk his neck. If he were also loyal (which I believe he was), Dumbledore would be fully aware of Malfoy's intention to kill him and Snape's Vow to finish Dumbledore off if Malfoy didn't. Surely there would have been some sort of agreement; in the event that Malfoy attempted the murder, Snape would have to kill Dumbledore in order for Voldemort & Co. to still believe he's their man.</p>
<p>So why did Dumbledore plead with Snape for mercy, as it would seem? That totally caught me off-guard. So un-Dumbledore-like. I think he was 1) in pain, and wanted Snape to end it, and 2) begging Snape to remember his promise (remember the conversation Hagrid overheard?) to kill Dumbledore if he had to. If Snape didn't do it, both he and Dumbledore would be killed. If Malfoy did it, an abused little crybaby would become a murderer for no good reason. If Snape had tried to save Dumbledore, the Death Eaters would have killed him. If Snape killed Dumbledore, he'd be proving his loyalty and saving himself (while Dumbledore's death was all the while unavoidable). As mentioned above, Dumbledore spent the whole book prepping Harry for his death, and Snape, as Voldemort's confidant, would be an extremely valuable asset to have in the war.</p>
<p>So why does Snape have that look: 'revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face'? Because he hates what Dumbledore is making him do. He knows he has to... but he hates it. This also explains why Snape got so mad when Harry called him a coward. He would be, if the above theory were true, quite the opposite. Snape is in pain as he flees from Harry. If he were a true Death Eater, he'd be delighted despite Harry's insults.</p>
<p>Doesn't it work?</p>
<p>The #1 question I was hoping this book would answer was, why does Dumbledore trust Snape? Well, I surely hope that the answer isn't simply that BS about how Snape confessed to DD that he had overheard the prophecy and indirectly caused James' and Lily's deaths. THAT'S the ironclad reason for trusting Snape? I don't buy it. Even now that DD's dead, we better get more on that topic from SOMEONE in Book 7. If we don't, it's really going to tarnish the believability of the DD character for me.</p>
<p>The other thing I was really looking forward to was finding out how Apparition works. That was a big bust. Think hard about entering the hoop! Sounds like every other wandless spell, going back to Book 1. I was imagining something a lot more creative. At the very least, I was hoping for more Splinching or other colorful surprises.</p>
<p>I agree about the love stories being oversimplified and not as satisfying as romantic developments in books 4 & 5. Harry seems more like a mature hero in this book and less like a confused kid, which is clearly intentional, but I thought it compromised the utter realness of the character that was such a strength of the earlier books. Boldly moving forward with Ginny and then giving her AND Hogwarts up like a priest embracing celibacy -- well, it didn't remind me of any 16-year-old boys I know. And is no one in the wizarding world thinking about progressing beyond snogging at that age? There's a tiny hint that Harry's dreams about Ginny aren't rated PG, but that's it.</p>
<p>There were plenty of highlights, too, of course. The whole Horcrux idea, the Gaunt flashbacks, the marvelous first two chapters, etc. Speaking of the first two chapters, JK has said before that she originally opened Book 2 with the first chapter of HBP, and that in fact Book 2 was originally going to be titled HBP. Can anyone guess how that would have worked?</p>
<p>My gut reaction after the last page was that Harry's not going to survive Book 7. I can't defend that with evidence; the situation is just so dark, and so hopeless, and JK's been so unshy about showing us the complete ugliness that the world has degenerated into, that it seemed inevitable to me.</p>
<p>I have some questions regarding Harry being a Horcrux. I mean, when Tom Riddle's diary contianed a piece of his soul, it was evident. The diary was like a version of Voldemort - evil. Should a piece of Voldemort's soul be in Harry, it wouldn't just reside there peacefully, would it? Harry has never (consciously) shown any inclination towards the darker arts (HBP's book was unintentional). He also hasn't felt any struggle within him about good/evil. Wouldn't Voldemort's soul fight instead of just staying dormant?</p>
<p>Also, I thought the Horcruxes were planted prior to Voldemort's defeat. He had already planted 6 fragments of his soul in different objects (he had the 7th) when he went to the Potters' place. He went with the intention of killing Harry, so he didn't mean to plant his soul inside Potter. I feel fuzzy/confused on this issue because I don't know how the soul stuff works - I mean, how does the soul know it's time to escape the object and attempt to inhabit a body? How does that process work? </p>
<p>And my last question was regarding Love. Harry's greatest strength against Voldemort is that he can love, which causes Voldmort mortal agony of sorts. How can Voldemort's soul withstand that?</p>
<p>I do hope there's redemption for Snape... I'd hate to think of Dumbledore being duped.</p>