HBP - Finished
Whit
,
I've finished and am ready to discuss
when you all are ready.
Don't click comments until you finish - SPOILERS!!
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Katie's about halfway (can't give her too hard of time since she started reading a good 2 hours or so after I did this morning.
What do you all think?
I cried for the last hour of reading.
Do you ALL believe that Snape ("Professor Snape, Harry") is evil now? Or, do you still believe in Dumbledore and his ability to judge people?
Book Four scared me so much that I'm still disturbed over it being made into a movie. The books are for older children, the movies tend to be geared toward younger children - I'm not so sure with the subject matter from FOUR on.
I remember reading ONE and TWO to her edited when she was five/six. Hard to believe how much time has passed since we started this series.
"HER" above is Katie. I had posted a little bit about her, but I'll let her post her own thoughts on the book.
Okay, I really, really, really, really liked it. I'm glad Harry FINALLY made his move towards Ginny at least. I was sad Pro. Dumbledore died, but I knew he was going to, and I didn't cry untill the last chapter. This sounds stupid, but I started crying when Harry told Ginny he had to stay away from her and my tears redoubled at Ron and Hermione's bravery.
I hate Snape, and I don't care if he is a good guy, I still hate him. But I did find myself feeling sorry for Draco. It really wasn't his fault, they'd kill his parents if he didn't do it. I have to say my least favorite part of the book (besides P.D.'s death, of course) was Harry and Draco's fight in the bathroom, that for me was the hardest seen to read. I didn't even mind the dead bodies.
Can't wait untill the seventh book, the grand fanally as I am now reffering to it (how do you spell fanally?) It's gonna be a good one.
'Have to say that six was my favorite, it was just really good. JKRowling's writing is AMAZING and I'll be sad when the books are finally over.
Oh yeah, I had forgotten about that. But you have to love what Hermione said it smelled like 'Ink and new books", I think mine would smell like old books and pencil shavings.
I loved the book - couldn't put it down. It was so sad, but I didn't cry much, probably because Robert kept pestering me.
I was excited that Harry and Ginny got together too. When Rowling said the book answered a lot of questions, I was kind of curious. I have only read all of the books once and I borrowed them (not anymore, I'm going to own them all). I couldn't think of any questions that needed answering. Boy was I wrong.
After Snape killed Dumbledore I didn't consider the fact that he might still be good. There were just enough clues throughout the book to keep you guessing which side he was on. But after someone mentioned it, I started to wonder. There is a slight chance that when Dumbledore pleaded to him, he was asking Snape to kill him so that Draco wouldn't be forced too. Dumbledore probably knew he was going to die anyway. There was no time for anyone to make an antidote for the poison. Of course, I think that is unlikely. Snape is probably bad.
Katie, I think you are right about Dumbledore having to die. With him around, Harry always leaned on him. I think that might have hindered his ultimate efforts to kill Voldemort. In the end, I think Harry has to face him alone.
..okay, I've almost stopped crying. Good and Bad tears - so sad the D. is gone - I LOVED him! I'm even sad Fawkes is gone - wish he could have stayed on with Harry - so different from Sirius' death - where I felt betrayed and so lonesome - for Harry's sake - somehow this feels like Harry is the Chosen One - and he's ready. D. finished the preparations and so he was ABLE to go - tired, true, withered hand and all...
SNAPE - there HAS to be more that we don't yet know - D. wouldn't have been decieved - I just can't believe he was wrong.
Best book ever! Or, as Josh would say, "That was the best book I never read on my island!"
gam - I think you're right. however unlikely it seems, unless it is completely proven otherwise, I think we should believe Dumbledore was right.
Clues to why I think Severus is not working for Voldemort (or, why I think Dumbledore knew he was going to die - I think Dumbledore was dying from something that had happened over the Summer - that had made his hand black):
1) When Severus agrees to make the Unbreakable Vow, he agreed "quietly" - and then a "moment's silence" before he committs with "I will."
2) Dumbledore HIMSELF went to the Dursleys to pick up Harry, making sure they committed again to let Harry go "home" for a brief time and making sure they and Harry knew he comes of age at 17.
3) Harry FINALLY learned potions, which he really needed to do from Professor Snape (indirectly, but still)
4) When Harry asks Dumbledore about his hand, Dumbledore says, "You shall hear that story another time." My guess is that he'll hear that story from Severus.
5) Professor Snape tried really, really hard to get Malfoy to confide his plan in him - as Harry overheard.
6) Lupin's words mirror my own, "It comes down to whether or not you trust Dumbledore's judgment. I do; therefore, I trust Severus."
7) When Harry tells Dumbledore about his overhearing Professor Snape, Dumbledore says, "I think you might even consider the possibility that I understood more than you did." This, again, makes me think that Dumbledore knew Severus was trying to find out Malfoy's plan.
8) Dumbledore says (about Severus overhearing the prophecy and telling Voldy), "I believe it to be the greatest regret of his life." (this doesn't mean that it was Severus' apology that made Dumbledore trust him as Harry assumes)
9) Dumbledore says, "I am sure. I trust Severus Snape completely."
10) Professor Snape kept Dumbledore alive in the blackened hand incident "Had it not been for ... Professor Snape's timely action when I returned to Hogwarts, desperately injured, I might not have lived to tell the tale."
11) Even to Draco, at the end, he talked about trusting Professor Snape. "agree to differ" "I trust Professor Snape"
12) Dumbledore ONLY wanted Pro. Snape at the end. He didn't want Harry to get anybody else.
13) Dumbledore would never beg - especially not for his life. So, what was he asking Severus to do when he said, "Severus... please.."
14) Pro. Snape not only didn't kill Harry when he had the chance, he also wouldn't let anybody else kill him.
15) When Harry said to Severus, "kill me like you killed him, you coward--" Severus screamed "Don't call me a coward." in PAIN.
Of course, all of this could be misdirection in the other direction. JK is good at misdirection. Did you figure it was Pro. Snape who was the half-blood prince or did you entertain for a moment the thought that it could be Harry's Mom? Good writing!
It occurs to me that maybe Dumbledore wasn't dying from something to do with the hand, but knew he'd have to sacrifice himself (sort of like Obi Wan) for Harry to be where he needed to be to finally kill Voldy.
Mom & Angie - nice to see you on here!!!!
Mom, your comment about Josh absolutely cracked me up.
#4 above is wrong - I guess to some extent he already heard about that story from Dumbledore and that Pro. Snape cured him. I guess it will just be severus and not pro snape now, though... weird to think of no Hogwarts.
I've been meaning to post on Whit's log and I guess Harry Potter is the right place to do so. Ok, so I haven't read the book yet. But I HAVE been expecting Prof. D. to die and it looks like book 6 is his end. It makes perfect sense from the story arc for Prof. D. to die. Harry must learn to stand on his own in order to fulfill his destiny. If his destiny is to take Prof. D's place as the greatest wizard of his time, he must face Voldemort on his own, without the crutch of Prof. D. The only way for Harry to truly "come into his own" is for Prof. D. to die. Sad, but from a storytelling standpoint it makes perfect sense.
As for Snape, that's an interesting one. If you believe the death of Prof. D. was necessary, as I do, you also have to assume that Snape's role was also necessary. I believe that Snape will ultimately be redeemed. Did I mention that he also happens to be my favorite character. To me, he's the most human of all of the characters in her book -- he's got real issues of self-esteem and self-loathing which makes him very believable. Plus, Alan Rickman plays him in the movie and that makes him perfect as far as I am concerned!
Oh well, I sure have a lot to say for someone who hasn't yet read the book! LOL!
lol, Laura - good to see you here.
The book is really very good. I hope you enjoy it.
I would also like to say that it just occurred to me to look up Sirius' brother's name and it is (wait for it) - REGULUS!!!! Now, if his middle name starts with an A......
And MAYBE he was the one sent to kill Regulus and because he's a good guy he didn't kill Regulus... Oh, whatever. Who knows who RAB is...
I loved all of the romance in this one.
The quote was from Sirius (I think) and was: "From what I found out after he died, he [Regulus] got in so far, then panicked about what he was being asked to do, and tried to back out. Well, you don't just hand in your resignation to Voldemort. It's a lifetime of service or death"
So, I don't know. Guess we'll find out. It'd be kind of cool, though!
It would be. I loved all the romance too (except Ron and Lavender, that just sicked me out! Luckely it ended, who gives someone a necklace that says "My Sweetheart"?) Tonks and Lupen, didn't see that one coming.
Mom says that Lupen is kind of like the new Dumbledore, I love Lupen!
Okay, okay, you've finally got me thinking that Snape's a goodguy. I actually felt sorry for Draco in this one! (I think I already said that, sorry, I'm losing track!) Can't wait 'till seven (though I think I'm going to have to, for a L-O-N-G time).
Actually, Stephen is the one who said Lupin is kind of the new Dumbledore - I think Harry is the new Dumbledore.
Seven better come out soon!!!
Hi AmyK. I'm thinking about it cause I'm sick in bed and don't feel like obsessing over anything else while I sit here knitting.
Josh is adorable.
Josh is the funnyest kid! "That was the best book I never read on my island!" LOL! Tell Josh I said HI! And Ty and Conner and Thomas and Nay.
by far my favorite so far. i agree with laura that snape has been my favorite because of his depth and the feeling that he's a realy person with multiple aspects to his personality. i was so mad at him for a bit that i didn't want him to be good, because if he is i didn't want him to have killed D. it was easier to think of him as bad until i calmed down and realized he's been trying the whole book to keep draco from making mistakes that he made and that he had to kill D or the others could have done worse than kill him, or at least done it in a worse way.
i'm a wuss, but i cried through this whole book, the romance was all very sweet; no kate, not lavender, but everyone else. harry preparing to become a man with dumbledores help was the theme i thought of this book. his year of preperations with dumbledore showing harry that voldemort is human or at least kinda, and how to defeat him and then showing him that even the great D is also human. the best thing obi-wan ever did for luke was to let himself be killed by vader.
Whit - an addition to your first point. Snape didn't hesitate to make the first two parts of the vow. But when asked to promise that if Draco failed, he would finish the job, Snape hesitated before repeating the words.
Hey, the book had typos - why not us???
Carrie, if it were me I would have bought it also - oh, wait... I DID buy an extra cause mine wasn't here "early enough" - I will remember for book 7 that they have them at Walmart for $15.95 with no line at 7am.
Angie, nice additional point.
Candi, I cried way more too and the parts you mentioned were two of my biggest "tear jerkers" as well. I can still cry thinking of Dumbledore's line to Harry. --sniff
Of course I knew DD would die - but I still sobbed my eyes out.
I knew who the HBP was as soon as he opened the book (but I expected Harry to learn something from Pro. Snape this book).
Carrie, don't forget that Harry learned the most important thing in the world from old Sluggy - how to kill Voldy!!!! That's why DD wanted him at the school so bad.
Mom, I was impressed with Fleur too - I really didn't expect it (although she showed real love of her sister in FOUR so I should have given her the benefit of the doubt)...
My biggest concern for Severus is his lack of "love" - which is the most powerful thing. I think DD may have been the one he loved and I'm not sure how that will impact book 7.
My bigest 'Tear Jerkers' were: Harry Telling Ginny he couldn't love her.
Harry Telling MoM he was 'Dumbledore's Man Through and Through'. I didn't cry when D died either, but I cried at his funeral.
My fav. part in the last part of the book was when Harry kept having to try not to laugh, it's something Dumbledore would do, keep calm and humerous even in the darkest of times. My fav. Dumbledore quote is, and always will be:
"Nitwit! Odment! Blubber! Tweak!"
Okay... I am not going to read the comments, lol. But I must confess that I now have to start to read the whole series. I am a tad bit behind, aren't I?
I have seen the 3 HP movies, but I know that there are differences between the books & the movies. So I shall have to either splurge for the books, or hope that the library has them available for borrowing.
DEFINITELY READ THEM!!! :O)
Or, get the audiobooks and listen to them on your trip to Florida!!
I think most libraries have the books, but there's a good chance you will encounter a waiting list. I don't think they have the budget to buy enough books to meet demand.
I think you all are crazy for loving Snape! I dislike him with a great passion. I think he is not a good guy because he killed P. Dumbledore. He may have had some loyalties but when Voldermort came back and started looking for him he backed out.
I really like all the romanace in this one. I don't think Ginny will let Harry drop her like a hot potato. I think he will be stuck with her whether he likes it or not! I was proud of Fleur for staying with Bill. I actually thought that Tonks was in love with someone but they refused her (she was too sad over Sirius's death, not even Harry was that sad!) I wonder if they're kids will have werewolf genes? I thought for sure that Ron and Hermione would hook up in this one! (Well, they almost did.) I'm glad that Ron broke up with Lavender. I agree with Katie who would give someone a "My Sweetheart" necklace? I feel like hurling!
I was so sad when Dumbledore died. Suprisingly though I didn't cry! (That's a real shocker because I cry all the time!) I couldn't cry though because one, I was in denial and two, my aunts said they would KILL me if I said or did anything (they haven't finished it.) I was HYSTERICAL when Sirius died in the fith one. Aunt Amy couldn't stop laughing because I was crying so hard!
I think that RAB is someone who will be in the next book. Harry with find RAB and then RAB will help him with the remaining horaxes.
Ginny,
I didn't say I love Snape - I think he can be a very mean person. But, I still believe that he only killed DD on DD's orders. I think it was "part of the plan" and I think that Snape had a hard time doing it (remember that he was overheard fighting with DD about something?) and didn't want to do it. But he was strong and is a good wizard.
Aunt Whit
If we are supposing that Snape is still good, they could have been arguing about who should die. I think they both knew Malfoy was not going to kill Dumbledore. Because of the vow, this meant that either Dumbledore or Snape had to die. Dumbledore could have been trying to convince Snape that he had more to offer, so he should be the one to live and help Harry defeat Voldemort. As a spy, the info Snape could provide to Harry might be more valuable than anything more Dumbledore could give.
Ginny:
I am the one who loves Snape; not your Aunt Whit -- she's too nice to like the bad guy. Me, on the other hand, I always like a good villian!!
Tell your mom to hurry up and finish the book so she can get on here and yell at me for liking Snape.
lol - I do love to DESPISE Snape. ;-)
Until Saturday, I didn't own any of the Harry Potter books. Book 6 arrived on Saturday and I only took a day and a half to finish it. Books 1-5 arrived today. (Robert ordered them for me after I was so excited about reading book 6. He figured I would enjoy having the rest of them too.) I am forcing myself to not open them until I am completely ready for the 2 week vacation we are leaving for in 4 days. I am so excited to read them all again.
You're all nuts!!
Thank you!
We know we're nuts!
I kind of wanted to hit the MoM througout this whole book, but not as much as in book5. Ron and Hermione were kind of together, her crying on his shoulder in the end, that was where I started crying. I'm pretty sure Ginny's not going to let Harry drop her, and I'm pretty sure Harry didn't want to. They're still together, just more carefully. After all, it was Dumbledore that said Love is the most powerfull thing.
I hated/loved the whole suspence, becouse I saw my mom crying so I wondered who died. I thought it was a lot of people, though even as I worried that they wouldn't be able to save Ron from the poisen I was about 70% positive that it was Dumbledore that died, not Ron. But I also thought it could be Hagrid (in one part, I always end up thinking the worst of new people, but the funny thing is I really liked Moody in book4 and he was bad and I hated Sluggy and he was good!). Actually, even if Snape was bad I'd probably like him, becouse I too like a good villan (they're especially fun to write, but I'm not too great at my villans! Wish I could do something as good as Voldy).
This book asked a lot of questions, and I still can't wait till seven (anyone got a time turner? I'll go into the future and get it!).
The anonymous post was from Robert. He couldn't figure out how to post his name. At least that's his story. I think maybe he didn't have the courage to tell you all what he really thought. :)
That's funny. Hi Robert.
I've finally agreed with mum (sorry, all this HP) that Snape's a goodguy, but I still don't like him. I take more of a Lupen point of veiw, I trust D. enogh to beleive Snape's good, but I still don't like him. Oh well, I guess we'll find out 'next book.
I read the first HP book yesterday. I noticed a lot of foreshadowing. They mentioned a lot of things that I didn't notice the first time through, but that meant something after I had read the other books.
For instance, at one point Harry says that he feels like Snape is reading his mind. Then in book 5 we find out he is quite good at that branch of magic.
Also, the motorcycle Hagrid comes on when he drops off Harry with the Dursleys at the beginning was borrowed from Sirius Black.
Nothing earthshattering, but pretty cool.
I was too impatient to read all of the responses before I posted my thoughts. I will read them after. My thoughts are as follows:
Snape is probably the most complex character in the book. I think he killed Dumbledore because he had made the unbreakable vow. I'm still not convinced that he is evil. I know, I know. But I trust Dumbledore's judgement, and he believed in Snape, therefore...I think the jury is out.
ALSO: my first thought on finishing was "What a downer!" But then I thought that this is the Empire Strikes Back of the Harry Potter books. Get what I mean? No resolution, just the crux of the conflict. The next book will be the Return of the Jedi of the Harry Potter books, complete with cute little ewoks and everybody's happy ends with a song and everything.
That's what I think.
Plus, audio books are brilliant. I can do all of my very busy mom stuff while "reading." Three cheers for audio books! (My son used to think they were saying "Free cheese")
FREE CHEESE!!! Wow, that would be so cool. lol.
Oddly enough, I wasn't as down after this one as a couple of others. I feel like Harry really grew up and I was happy at the end - like he's ready to face what he has to in the next book (eeek - the last one!!!)
I am wondering about the spell P.D. used to keep Harry safe at his anut and uncles. If the spell P.D. put on him stopped working when he died Then will the other be broke too? But then i need to go back and check and see if it says P.D. did the spell, i am thinking it is said strong magic was used.
I think P. snape is good. i am agreeing that P.D. and snape had an agreement too. maybe even an unbreakable vow.and that is why he did not hesitate when P.D
said please. My Dh makes fun of me when i cry from reading books or movies, so i went and grabbed my allergy eye drops and made it look like my eyes were bothering me. I liked this book, i love the whole lot of them. will be re- reading them to get ready for 7 in most likely about 2 years from now. boo hoo.
LOL!
Yes, I agree that P. SNAPE is good, but I don't like him. Or I do. I like his depth, I like the way he's written, I don't like him personally. Like I've said before, I take a Lupen look at him. I don't hate Snape, I just don't like him.
I really liked the end too, I really liked Harry in this book, I didn't like him much in the last one.
I was also kind of mad at D. last book, from a Harry point of veiw. I don't know.
I can't beleive it's the LAST book. I'm ready to cry (I won't, but I might when I finish BK7). I was sad when some miner series I've read (DELTORA QUEST) was over, and this is HARRY POTTER, I'm not sure I'll be able to stand it.
I just hope the next book is l-o-n-g.
I'm pretty sure the strong spell was the love his mother gave him by dying in his place.
I cried my eyes out in this one - the next one will probably kill me.
Oh, and I forgot to say "FREE CHEESE for audio books!!!!"
I listen as I work all the time. I joined audible and I love it!!
There was a different spell that Dumbledore put on the Dursley's house. In book 4 Voldemort tells his Death Eaters that even he can't touch Harry when he is at the Dursley's house. Also, Dumbledore insists that Harry return to the Dursley's after the school year is over, even if it is only for a week.