So...

[trinityofone]

Please tell me some of the rest of y'all have done the naughty and read you-know-what and want to talk about it here. 'Cause I just don't know enough HP people. (And there's something I've never before regretted. ;-) )

ETA: So far, no actual spoilers in the comments. If/when that changes, I promise to edit with the appropriate warning IMMEDIATELY.

ETA2: I would say that there are some spoilers here now! BACK AWAY.

Comments

[liviapenn.livejournal.com]

Hermione is so smart and cool—why does she cry all the time? I mean, she spent the whole book, basically, alternating between being awesome and weeping/sobbing/gasping. I mean, I guess that could be a legitimate character trait, but it really bugged me after a while.

Hm, I didn't really notice that, but maybe it will jump out at me on a re-read. I felt like Harry cried a bit, too.

I've always felt a lot of sympathy for Snape, and was TOTALLY unsurprised by how his whole plotline played out; I never doubted that he was still spying for Dumbledore, etc.

*nodding* Oh, yeah, totally unsurprised there. I mean, who didn't know he was in love with Lily, etc.

Actually, my issue with Snape is the same as my problem with the Malfoys, I guess. OK, so Snape loved Lily and the Malfoys love their son-- BIG DEAL. That doesn't actually make you a hero-- it doesn't automatically redeem you if you've done horrible awful things. "Yes, I killed some helpless Muggles, and had many other harmless witches and wizards sent to Azkaban to be tortured, and was basically a child-murdering Nazi... but I love my son, Draco." Er what? Are we supposed to find that touching? Or surprising somehow?

I think it's an interesting thing to put in a kids' book-- "Even bad people are capable of love, see!" But I don't really like it if the lesson is "and that automatically means more than all their bad choices, so all you have to do is be like 'I love my cat' and that's *good enough*-- you don't actually have to DO anything to be redeemed, like actually try to stop bad things from happening, or actively help people, or protect the helpless, or try to make it up to the people that you hurt." I mean, look at Dumbledore, who spent his whole life in penance for being a teenage git. I mean, obvs Snape *did* work for the cause of good, but the Malfoys (the Malfoys senior, anyway) not so much-- they were pretty much selfish and cowardly to the end.

I think I really just wanted him to make a CHOICE, one way or the other, but instead he just skulks along. Maybe that was Rowling's point, but if so, I don't think she sold it strongly enough.

Yeah, agreed. I mean, you know there are people who will be like "See! Draco, totally redeemed!" but... I would have liked to see him actually do something *inarguably* unselfish first.