Friday 12 April 2013

"Indeed, your failure to understand that there are things much worse than death has always been your greatest weakness."

Oh my. I don't know if it's just because I read the whole of the last part of OotP in one sitting that everything felt at the EXTREMES of drama and tension and OMG-ness, or if that's just the way it was for everyone. Because, ignoring Grawp (which is the only correct thing to do, frankly) this whole section was just like action action action DEATH action action DUMBLEDORE CRYING hometime. I didn't really have time to breathe and I was kind of distraught, but at the same time...
It was kind of awesome.

I think we're all aware of my feelings about Sirius at this point, so I shan't labour them now, but I will just say that... I'm not happy that he's dead or anything. I'm not going to dance on his grave or cheer or whatever, because I understand what he means to Harry, and I understand that, on the most basic level, he wasn't an evil character. But I also didn't cry when he died, and there were a few things around it that made me sadder- Neville's courage when he stands up to Bellatrix ('I DOE YOU HAB!'), Lupin's sadness ('It sounded as though every word was causing him pain.') and Dumbledore's solitary tear at Harry's fate.
Not that it's ever a 'what is sadder?' competition, because that sounds like a horrible contest! But in terms of the things that touched me the most, Sirius's death wasn't really up there.

I know there are Umbridge things to discuss (she'll get a bullet point, don't worry) and also McGONAGALLLLL, but for me this part really just boils down to the bit in the Ministry of Magic, and the bit in Dumbledore's office. For excitement (and HORROR) the MoM scenes can't really be matched, but in terms of setting things up for the last two books, I feel like the chapter in Dumbledore's office is really the MOST IMPORTANT EVER. A lot of things are resolved, a full scale character analysis of Sirius goes on, and so many things are set up for the end point of everything.
  • Things that are resolved: Dumbledore has been ignoring and avoiding Harry to protect him (awww), Everyone should always listen to Hermione about everything, especially being nice to house elves, Dumbledore is a massive badass (actually, that's in the chapter before, but isn't it awesome?!)
  • Sirius's character: He was headstrong and brave and not willing to sit around when there might be DANGER, and so he shouldn't have been kept caged up, but ALSO he should have shown respect to those lower than him like he told H+R+H to do in GoF. It's mostly interesting in that, Dumbles says a lot of nice things about Sirius that Harry barely responds to, but the slightest hint of a criticism makes him START THE SHOUTING AGAIN. Which, I guess, is something we already know about Harry since he can't take any criticism of Hagrid and his teaching skills, and it's nice that he doesn't see any faults at all in the people he loves, but also it makes him seem kind of naive and, well, stupid.
  • Setting up for the end point of everything: Well. Surely I don't have to explain this bit. But basically, I remember that reading about the prophecy for the first time made me go 'OMG WHUT?!' Mind. Blown. But also, Dumbledore going through the reasons he kept putting off telling Harry made me WEEP. "'I have watched you struggling under more burdens than any student who has ever passed through this school, and I couldn't bring myself to add another.'"

The part in the Department of Mysteries (which, by the way, is absolutely where I want to work when I grow up, because things that WITCHES AND WIZARDS can't even figure out? YES PLEASE!) is just completely perfect, in that it's confusing and mad and fast, and even though you might not be sure what's going on all the time, that's ok because you still can't stop reading and OMG the Peril! My heart was in my mouth the whole time I was reading, and I knew what happened! I can't even tell you how much I appreciate that Harry and Neville believe that everything will be ok when Dumbles arrives though, because that's how I feel about him all the damn time. I love Dumbles.

Bullet points? Yes.

  • All the exam stuff (remember that? That was totally in this section!) was really well done, I think- as they were waiting for them to start, I could completely remember what it was like waiting to go into an exam, so nice evoking memories work, JK!
  • "No more pretending we care what happens when Jupiter and Uranus get too friendly." heh heh heh.
  • OH MY GOD, how annoying was Harry, running round after his vision and then going 'I don't have anyone to tell!' Literally the WHOLE TIME I was just like 'JUST FUCKING TELL SNAPE YOU IDIOT!' 
  • DOES Harry have a hero complex? I feel like he does want to save people because of some underlying guilt that he couldn't save his parents (or something) but mostly he wants to save Sirius because he loves Sirius, and also how is he supposed to know about the putting fake images in his head thing? COULDN'T SOMEONE HAVE MENTIONED THAT?! (I am actually really pissed off about this)
  • Does Umbridge really get raped by centaurs? Cause... I don't really support that. Even if it is Umbridge.
  • I love that Dumbles calls Voldy 'Tom'. That seems like the right thing to do. Deflating-y.
  • "'I- don't- well-' blustered Fudge, looking around as though hoping somebody was going to tell him what to do." I think this pretty much tells us all we need to know about Fudge.
  • You know how Harry is all like 'I'll never forgive Snape!'? Um... Why? For... doing all he could to try and stop things and locate Sirius and also save the children? All whilst not blowing his cover? Harry is stupid (some more).
And finally- (look out, because I'm about to compliment Sirius here. Ish.) I enjoy Harry's seeking out of Nearly Headless Nick to ask him if Sirius might be a ghost, and Nick telling him that he clearly won't be. It seems to me that being a ghost, and choosing to not move on to whatever's next, and choosing to be a mere shadow is kind of the cowardly thing to do, and whatever else I might say of Sirius, he definitely wasn't a coward. I figure that, choosing to be a ghost would be like staying inside the house, only forever, and that just wouldn't be Sirius's choice. Not ever. I feel like Harry understands that, and if not then he should.  
Is there anything happy at all in the Half Blood Prince?! I really hope so. I think we all need it!

23 comments:

  1. YES everyone should listen to Hermione! One of my notes during this section was just "HARRY, YOU IDIOT, LISTEN TO HERMIONE!"

    Although... I wish Hermione had suggested telling Snape ASAP, cause that would've been logical. Why didn't Ron, Ginny, or her think of that?? No, they just went along with Harry's genius plan to use Umbridge's fire. Tsk tsk.

    I don't remember if book 6 is more cheerful or not... but I feel like not. It's pretty much mostly sad-times from here on out!

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    1. Whyyyy doesn't anyone listen to Hermione?! To be super fair to Harry though, HOW WAS HE SUPPOSED TO KNOW THEY MIGHT PUT FAKE IMAGES IN HIS BRAIN IF NO ONE TOLD HIM?! I'm actually really pissed about that.

      No one appreciates Snape and his awesomeness. That's the real problem here.

      I feel like book 6 doesn't necessarily have more cheerful events, but that in tone it's a lot less dark? And definitely, DEFINITELY less frustrating, in terms of the massive grey areas there are in OotP over who's good and who's bad.

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  2. I think it was Lupin's response to Sirius and The Curtain of Doom (as I kinda think of it) that made me cry, rather than the actual event which was more like, "Is that it? What just happened?" Whereas then we see Lupin's response and it's like OHHHH MY HEART, THERE GOES ANOTHER FRIEND AND NOW HE'S THE ONLY ONE LEFT. And that made me really sad. Also, Fudge is crap (not THAT kind of fudge, obviously, because THAT kind of fudge is yummy), Dumbles is amazing, and I really, disturbingly hope that the centaurs at the very least Messed With That Woman's Head and maybe trampled her a bit, just for the lols. I KNOW I KNOW. But I do.

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    1. HE IS THE ONLY ONE LEFT, OMG LUPIN! I definitely cried more at Neville standing up to Bellatrix though, because NEVILLLLE! You are so very brave and I love you so much.

      Fudge is RIDICULOUS. I really do feel that that one quote sums him up better than anything, ever. Fucking idiot. (Also I do like fudge! But it almost always gives me a headache. Sad times.) I don't mind the centaurs doing THOSE things, just as long as they didn't do the other thing. Because that shit's not cool.

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  3. Seriously WHY did nobody ever mention to Harry that Voldemort might put lying pictures in his brain? That is crazy. It is all the way crazy.

    Umbridge totally did not get raped by centaurs. There's nothing in the text to support that conclusion. Centaurs of mythology are lusty rape-monsters, sure, but JK Rowling's centaurs aren't at all. They dragged her away and, I don't know, stomped on her head. Or whatever.

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    1. Isn't it though?! I just... I literally have no idea why they'd be SO vague about the reason for occlumency. I mean, I IMAGINE it's for plot reasons, but COME ON JK!

      I am willing to accept this version of events because I REALLY WANT TO. But I'm not so sure...

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  4. THERE IS NO RAPE IN HARRY POTTER WORLD PLEASE DON'T CORRUPT IT. Also, I appreciate the analysis of WHY Harry has a hero complex - it makes sense. You make a good point about why Sirius wouldn't be a ghost but I don't think there's any reason to expect Harry to understand that. He is very self-absorbed, even before this shouty screamy angsty book. Never does he ask anybody about themselves or their pasts, even to find out about his parents . The only exception to this is Ron, whose life Harry covets. So when he thinks about what dead Sirius would do, he thinks about it only in relation to himself, because that's all he ever does. This is why he should never leave Hermione's side.

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    1. Revision: I just read a whole bunch of stuff about how Umbridge was probably raped and I am convinced. And horrified.

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    2. TOTALLY NOT MY THEORY! But ISN'T it convincing? And, you know, makes me want to throw up a bit.

      Noooooo, Harry isn't self absorbed! I imagine that he has those kinds of conversations all the time, only JK doesn't include them because they're not directly related to the story (I realise this makes me sound nuts!) and ALSO children don't really ask those questions! At least not much. ALSO I think it makes sense for Harry to think Sirius would be a ghost for him, because almost everything he did in these books (flashbacks excepted) was FOR Harry, as everyone points out all the time. And he's mourning, but I feel like, if he really thought about it, he wouldn't ACTUALLY want Sirius to be a ghost.

      Damn, I will defend that boy with everything, apparently...

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  5. I wasn't really that sad when Sirius died either. The first time I read it I was more like.. huh?! whats going on?! I'm so confused!!! I think because I read the whole section so fast that I didn't actually absorb much of what was going on, if you know what I mean?
    But when I reread it, it never really bothers me. I'm sad for Harry, but Sirius was a bit stupid. Not bad in any way, but just.. daft.

    And noooo, no centaur rape. I'm pretty sure that there wasn't any intention to imply that that had happened, and I would hope that J K Rowling isn't stupid enough that she thinks that that would be a good way to punish an evil character. The centaurs just beat her up a bit, and gave her a good telling off.

    I haven't read the Half Blood Prince for a few years, but I listened to the German audiobook of it last year (that's the kind of thing I do for fun. Maybe I'm weird), and I don't remember there being anything particularly happy about it, but then again my German isn't that great so I might have just not understood it, hehe.

    Ahh, I wish I had my Harry Potter books here, then I could read along! Living so far away from my childhood books is really inconvenient.

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    1. Ohmigosh, I read this whole section SO fast. Like, RIDICULOUSLY so. I probably always have! Sirius IS a bit stupid, yes. I... Have my issues with him. Although, before this readalong, I mostly just never thought about him at all!

      I don't know man... The evidence is pretty compelling. I WANT to believe that isn't what happened, but... I don't know!

      YOU KNOW 3 LANGUAGES?! What the HELL?! (By which I mean, I am very impressed! Seriously! That's very impressive!) As I said above... Somewhere, I feel like it's not necessarily happier event-wise, but the tone and general Harry-ness is better? In that he's not acting like a tool anymore? So that'll be pretty fun in itself!

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    2. Haha, I only know german because I studied it up to A level... haven't really done anything with it since, but I have times when I try to keep it up by listening to audiobooks/watching spongebob in German, hehe. I can't really speak it though. I can just understand it to some extent. I really like the language though, and the person who narrates the German Harry Potter books has a really nice voice. Hehe.

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  6. Such a good book. And I don't think I've ever completely re-read HBP, so ONWARD! Onward.

    Omg Neville standing up to Bellatrix. Neville is just...good job, JK. What even are you. MAGIC. YOU ARE MAGIC. IN AUTHORIAL FORM. Damn.

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    1. ONWARD INDEED! (I feel bad that I never thank you in my posts for hosting. You... Know I love you for it, right?!)

      I didn't know I loved Neville SO much until this readalong, but yes, I love Neville very much and he is maybe the best. I can't even... HE HAS MADE ME CRY SO MUCH!

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  7. Your gifs aren't showing up for me but I'M SURE THEY ARE AWESOME. (Any problem on the internet that can't be solved by Refresh will not be solved by me.)

    Like with any death, the saddest part isn't so much what happened to the person who died, but how it affects the people who are left. Lupin! Sweet Lupin.

    I feel like the explanations part of the scene in Dumble's office is the reward we get for having to deal with the fact that Sirius is dead.

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    1. DO NOT WORRY. I can see the excellent GIFs now. They are excellent.

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    2. Why thank you! I actually had a bit of trouble with a couple of gif insertions (ewww...) last night, so I'm glad the ones I did get in are to your liking!

      Poor poor Lupin. He's the only one left, Kayleigh! :( And defffffinitely, the scene in Dumbles' office is a reward. Although I'm not sure rewards are supposed to make you cry. Hmmm...

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  8. Hm, I want to think Harry's "I'll never forgive Snape" thought was based on Snape's treatment of him in class, which borders on abusive... BUT in the context of that moment I think Harry is just really grasping for someone to blame for Sirius's death.

    But yes, think of all the trouble/death that could have been prevented had Harry and Co. raced off to Snape's office instead of Umbridge's. Although then we wouldn't have gotten to see the Department of Mysteries and the whole wizarding world would still be clueless that Vmort was back and Harry wasn't crazy.

    Dumbledore calling Vmort "Tom" makes me really happy, because he deserves to be brought down a bit from his pretentious, self-styled "Lord" status.

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    1. Aw, I guess so. But YEAH, you forgive him for being constantly mean to you, but you won't when he's just done everything he can, for once? Come ON, Harry!

      Well, indeed. I think a LOT of the things that happened could and would have been easily avoided had they not needed to happen for plot. ESPECIALLY IF SOMEONE HAD TOLD HARRY HE MIGHT HAVE FAKE VISIONS INSTEAD OF REAL ONES!

      I LOVE the Tom thing. Because he's only 'Lord Voldemort' by common consent, and if you just ignore that consent and call him by his given name than you take away at least a little bit of his power, at least symbolically. Bet if anyone else called him Tom, he'd Avada Kedavra their ass SO FAST though.

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  9. 'Dumbledore has been ignoring and avoiding Harry to protect him (awww)' - NO. NO 'awwwww.' Dumbledore avoiding Harry and not telling him why is what makes Harry a stupid whiny bitch for much of the book, and that is SUPER ANNOYING. And there was ZERO reason for him not to be like, I'm not going to make eye contact with you, especially in public, and here's why. I mean, it's not like Vmort is spying out of Harry's eyes at all times, so Dumbles could have written a NOTE and then Harry wouldn't have been so like 'Kvetch kvetch kvetch.'

    There is LITERALLY no reason for this to have happened the way it did, except for Plot. Misstep, JK.

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    1. YEAH, BUT IF HE WENT INTO HARRY (ooer) WHEN DUMBLES WAS THERE THEN DUMBLES WOULD HAVE PROBABLY HAD TO KILL HARRY! Although... I SUPPOSE someone else could have told him that was the reason why?

      I can't get too annoyed about it because I'm TOO annoyed that NO ONE TOLD HARRY HIS VISIONS MIGHT NOT BE REAL. There genuinely was NO reason not to tell him that!

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  10. Everyone should listen to Hermione always. Yes, true, dammit Harry. Also I kept yelling at Harry to just TELL SNAPE ABOUT HIS DREAM. Or use your mirror to talk to Sirius instead of breaking into the office. Or any of the million things he could have done instead. He sucks. Even if the scene with him in Dumbles office made me sadder than the death scene.

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    1. But he didn't KNOW it was a two-way mirror dealie! Although, thinking about it, even the thing he vowed not to use in case it got Sirius in trouble would surely be a better option than THE FIRE IN THE EVIL WOMAN'S OFFICE! Yeah, this was a stupid plot thingy...

      Harry doesn't suck, you know you love him! We alllllll love him. Oh Harry. :(

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