OotP Chapter Ten

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Sorry I forgot to post this yesterday!

*I hope we're not supposed to assume Voldemort is making Harry be jealous of Ron and Hermione in his dream. I'd also hope Mrs. Weasley crying over Kreacher was some hint that everyone has family, but it may just be there to create a jumble of images.

*ETA: Yup, turns out anything that looks like Harry being a natural jerk really was Voldemort as per recent interviews which just keep coming.

*In the continuing study of pain management in the Potterverse, the twins knocking Ginny down a flight of stairs with a flying trunk gets them yelled at because they could have caused her Serious Injury. Harry even asks how Ginny is, although of course she's not as hurt as a real girl would have been if knocked down the stairs. This should almost be a Jabootu category, whatever the opposite of the "Hero's battle death" category is. Heroes are more physically vulnerable than bad guys.

*Molly is described as looking like Petunia watching Sirius gambol about, but her advice would have actually protected him. Is there a parallel between Molly/Petunia and Sirius/Harry? Hmmm. Neither women like the person they're protecting, but Molly was right. Sirius makes sure everybody sees him at the station, doing everything but standing up on his hind legs and reciting the Gettysburg address over a megaphone.

*Poor Ron has to make it clear he's not like Percy. This whole thing has been so ruined for him, partly unintentionally, by Harry. He spends so much time feeling unworthy and hiding his pride he can't enjoy it. Hermione, of course, has no such problems. She deserves it and she is proud of it.

*Ginny introduces Luna as "Loony." She then gets into being the Great!Girl by sharply telling Neville he's not "nobody" compared to Harry--which is kind of interesting since we later find out actually, he's right. By a whim of fate he luckily got to be "nobody" instead of Harry.

*ETA: Btw, Harry and Ginny will totally be bffs with Neville and Luna as adults even though it's hard to imagine them ever going out of their way to have contact with them any more than they do in school.

*Harry says Neville must have skipped Luna's compartment because she looked dotty, but I doubt that's true. I think Neville just didn't want to disturb a solitary girl he didn't know in a compartment.

*Neville's family is usually described negatively, but in the all-important present competition they are winning hands down. They always give thoughtful, personal presents Neville really needs and likes. This plant just has to be significant, I think. Either Sirius was somehow affected by it or maybe Neville himself was/will be?

*ETA:Err...nope. Didn't go anyplace.

*Neville tells us he LOST the Rememberall that was the cause of so much fuss first year. Neville is careless with presents people went to a lot of trouble to get for him and Harry's big heroics were pointless in the long run. It was Harry's fight on his own behalf, not Neville's. In fact, it's kind of funny that at 15 that's still the main memory Harry has of Neville so it's all he can come up with to guess at Neville's present.

*ETA: Ultimately I'm not sure where JKR was always going with Harry's obviously not having the time of day for Neville. In the end he never had to feel like he underestimated him and it was like he was a great friend all along.

*Harry is more upset over being seen with Luna and Neville than even being covered in Stinksap because he would rather be with Cool People and he knows these kids aren't it. Please shut up all the people who think Harry's is either a) a big nerd/outcast or b) doesn't notice these things or c) prefers outcasts. He hates to see them bullied. He still thinks they're nerds. I think he takes after his father this way. (James had something against Snape; I don't think he picked on him because he thought he was a weak nerd.)

*Luna comes across as really affected to me.

*The Quibbler once again shows us that in the WW truth and lies are so mixed up the only way you know the difference is if you are the one doing the mixing up.

*Luna loses her dreamy voice when she tells Hermione off, which makes it seem more affected to me.

* Hermione "viciously" calls Pansy "that complete cow" who is "thicker than a concussed troll." (Second negative description--she criticized the Quibbler "scathingly" and made Luna, who's generally friendly, angry.) Apparently Hermione's Pansy-hate is very personal and passionate-suddenly?

*Ron follows suit with his plans to make Goyle write lines, like he hates/knows him personally-I'm not sure why. Did Goyle struggle too much when Ron knocked him out and stole his clothes? Not grunt loudly enough when Ron threw a firecracker in his caldron?

*Hermione claims Ron wanting to do that is "stooping" to Draco's level, though really Ron and Draco both live at this same level regularly, along with most of the school.

*Draco arrives and the scene comes to life.:-D He repeats the same idea Ron just said, reminding Harry he can give punishments, but he does not actually give Harry any punishment, even after Harry calls him a git and everyone laughs on cue, which is nothing like Malfoy making jokes that his friends laugh at loudly. Hermione is furious, I think because she's angry Dumbledore gave Draco a prefect badge like hers, thus sullying it.

*When they get off the train, Hermione comes up "panting" to tell us Malfoy's already using his badge to "bully people worse than ever" because he was "beastly" to first years. (Harry has just noticed that Draco and his friends just pushed by some "timid-looking" second years, timid for more villainy on the Slytherins' part-I wonder if Hermione just had a confrontation with them and they're angry about it.) Now, I've no doubt Malfoy would be generally obnoxious as a prefect as he is everywhere, but I can't see Hermione as objective, especially since she later scolds Ron for calling first years "midgets" and eventually seems to crush any confidence Ron has for asserting authority. To me it honestly seems like just as Malfoy encorporates his prefect badge into the bad parts of his personality, so too does Hermione, using hers to boss and nag and judge everyone worse than ever, telling other prefects they're doing it wrong and reporting them.

*The thestrels are cool, though of course Harry would have seen them last year. I like them being reflected in Luna's eyes. She goes back to the dreamy-quality to tell Harry's he's "as sane as she is." Yes, Luna, you are sane. You don't come across as crazy to me at all, so you can drop the "I'm so different" act.



IITS
Why does Neville, a character known for trying to fade into the background and not start trouble, do something so blatantly stupid as poking that plant to show everyone how it protects itself? He knew it sprayed sap even if he didn't know how much. Why would he think anybody would want to see that? Why would he want to release dung-smelling stuff into the air? Oh yeah--so that Cho could walk in and Harry could be covered in shit. IITS.

Also, the Slytherins seem quite jaunty and friendly for people last seen unconcious at the hands of just these people. IITS.

Nut o’ Fun
That plant--I wasn't sure whether it was a Nut or a Maguffin, actually, because it seems SO IMPORTANT but we never learned if it's affected anybody badly.ETA: just a nut. And a badly chosen one too, because it makes it seem like somebody was drugging Sirius.

Final score: 2.5

Comments

[anehan]

*ETA: Yup, turns out anything that looks like Harry being a natural jerk really was Voldemort as per recent interviews which just keep coming.

What? Has she said that in an interview? *begs Magpie to explain interviews to her, because she just gets cranky if she reads them*

After OotP, I theorized that Harry had such bad mood swings in OotP partly because he was feeling Voldemort's emotions and wasn't able to separate them from his own. Of course, DH convinced me that even if the capslocking was partly because of Voldie, the jerkiness was all Harry's own.

*Ginny introduces Luna as "Loony."

She's such a good friend.

[papier.livejournal.com]

Ginny introduces Luna as "Loony."

Thereby establishing the cruel nickname that she would later attack another boy for using (probably a boy she planned on going out with after Dean, had Harry not intervined).

*ETA: Btw, Harry and Ginny will totally be bffs with Neville and Luna as adults even though it's hard to imagine them ever going out of their way to have contact with them any more than they do in school.

Well apparently they called their daughter Lily Luna Potter. Lily Luna. Lol.

Luna comes across as really affected to me.

Methinks it was a way of bonding with the father after her mother died, by adopting his expressions and therefore wrapping themselves up in their own little world. There's definitely a difference in her at the beginning of HBP, after a year of interacting with people other than her dad for the first time since she started school.
Her belief in strange creatures seems genuine enough, but I doubt she grew up with the oddball nature.

[kaskait.livejournal.com]

Yup, turns out anything that looks like Harry being a natural jerk really was Voldemort as per recent interviews which just keep coming.

Obviously and she did nothing with it. Which shows she didn't know a good story thread when it bit her in the ass.

Instead we got SUPER!Ginny.

OotP 10

[lilian-cho.livejournal.com]

Hermione is furious, I think because she's angry Dumbledore gave Draco a prefect badge like hers, thus sullying it.

Boo, Hermione. Boo.

just as Malfoy encorporates his prefect badge into the bad parts of his personality, so too does Hermione, using hers to boss and nag and judge everyone worse than ever, telling other prefects they're doing it wrong and reporting them.

*nods in perfect agreement*

Yes, Luna, you are sane. You don't come across as crazy to me at all, so you can drop the "I'm so different" act.

AHAHAHAH Gosh I'm actually tempted to re-read this gawdawful book for the Luna parts now.

Oh yeah--so that Cho could walk in and Harry could be covered in shit.

X-D

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

I didn't actually listen to the interview, but I heard she said something about how Harry's anger in OotP pretty much is Voldemort exaggerating things. Which could be fine if it was symbolically highlighting Harry's own personality, but I think it's just giving Harry a pass--he's not responsible for his jerkiness.

Also she said that's the reason the Hat wanted to put Harry in Slytherin. Not that Harry really belonged there at all, but that it was "reading" Voldemort's soul bit in Harry's head.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Yes, what is up with that Looney thing? Because it doesn't seem like we're supposed to see any change in Ginny, like that she'd call her that but then feels badly when she gets to know her. She just blithely calls her that herself and then attacks others for it.

Well apparently they called their daughter Lily Luna Potter. Lily Luna. Lol.

Yeah isn't that charming?

I agree with Luna and her father re: her personality. That guy was one of the creepiest things in DH. Ever since reading it I have to remind myself Luna wasn't canonically molested by him.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

So much in this book could be summed up as "She did nothing with it" unless by "something" one means "reversed it and dismissed it as quickly as possible."

Re: OotP 10

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

This just made me flash back to DH where of course Cho shows up again--not to show that she's actually a fine person who would show up to fight with Harry even after disagreeing with him, but to show that in the end Cho of course wound up being more into Harry than he was into her. Why? Who knows!

[savagedamsel10.livejournal.com]

Yay, you posted! I thought you took a break because of the holidays.

*ETA: Yup, turns out anything that looks like Harry being a natural jerk really was Voldemort as per recent interviews which just keep coming.
And the fact that the Hat considered Slytherin. What is up with the insistence on making Harry become even more of a Stu than he already is?!

Harry even asks how Ginny is
Hey, we gotta throw a tiny bone for the case of H/G's super special love every now and then! (This was used as shipping evidence).

*Molly is described as looking like Petunia
But remember, Molly is GOOD. Like how Harry is reminded of Ginny when looking at Bellatrix but Ginny is GOOD.

*Poor Ron has to make it clear he's not like Percy. This whole thing has been so ruined for him, partly unintentionally, by Harry. He spends so much time feeling unworthy and hiding his pride he can't enjoy it. Hermione, of course, has no such problems. She deserves it and she is proud of it.
It's rather annoying since in real life most kids and other prefects will probably get along with him better than Hermione. He's just more generally genial while Hermione's prefecting the prefects would drive other prefects and students up the wall.

I'm sorry, but the whole Harry/Ginny friendship with Neville and Luna is just so damn fake and patronising. I think the reason why Luna seems so affected is because JKR herself does not really get the whole "school kook" mindset.

Re: OotP 10

[savagedamsel10.livejournal.com]

God, I hated how JKR did that. Another Stu-ifying Harry moment. I personally think that no girl in her right mind would want to date Harry who's basically the boyfriend from Hell and that Cho being an unfortunate one twigged on to that but I guess that would be blasphemous as it's like dissing Jesus.

Lily Luna Potter

[lilian-cho.livejournal.com]

omg. This is one of those dreaded interviews, isn't it? O_O

Where?

Re: OotP 10

[lilian-cho.livejournal.com]

I actually haven't read DH past "Accio Hagrid!" I lul'd too hard.

In which chapter did Cho show up?

[lilian-cho.livejournal.com]

Like how Harry is reminded of Ginny when looking at Bellatrix but Ginny is GOOD.

You know, an insane!Ginny fic would be awesome. In a way, they are similar because they both heart Tom Riddle X-D

Re: Lily Luna Potter

[papier.livejournal.com]

Yeah, she drew up a Potter/Weasley family tree and included the brats' middle names: James Sirius, Albus Severus, Lily Luna.
You can see it on her official website. It came from a documentary which is being shown here in Britain tonight (30th Dec) of I think a year in her life.

Re: OotP 10

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

At the end when everyone comes to fight the battle, Cho shows up and makes eyes at Harry and offers to take him to the Ravenclaw common room. Ginny gets Luna to do it. It's embarassing.

Re: Lily Luna Potter

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

I don't suppose any of them have babies at 13 like the Blacks, right?

Btw, doesn't she have George marry Angelina--and didn't Fred take her to the Yule Ball?

Re: Lily Luna Potter

[papier.livejournal.com]

It doesn't give dates of birth (though she does say that Victoire was born on May 2nd, the second anniversary of the end of the war, hence her name) but she did mention that some might find George/Angelina a bit strange but that she thought it made sense.
Um, no Rowling. Because twins are two seperate people.

Re: Lily Luna Potter

[papier.livejournal.com]

*first anniversary

Re: Lily Luna Potter

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Presumably she means George and Angelina gets together grieving over Fred. Which is totally logical, because you know that you can't meet anybody important after you're a teenager and Fred would be such a huge force in Angelina's life, what with his once having taken her to a dance.

The sad thing is how much sense this actually does make when you get into the warped world of HP.

Re: Lily Luna Potter

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Oh and p.s.--To be fair, George and Fred really weren't separate people as written, sadly, so I guess that works.

Re: OotP 10

[merrymelody.livejournal.com]

LOL, me neither, I just pressed 'find' for my favourite characters.

Cho's last stand (before apparently marrying a Muggle, naturally as a sign of her own inferiority; according to one of the endless recent interviews):

Harry’s mouth fell open. Right behind Lee Jordan came Harry’s old girlfriend, Cho Chang. She smiled at him.
“I got the message,” she said, holding up her own fake Galleon, and she walked over to sit beside Michael Corner.
...
Before he could formulate a new question, however, Cho spoke again.
“If you’d like to see what the diadem’s supposed to look like, I could take you up to our common room and show you, Harry. Ravenclaw’s wearing it in her statue.”
...
He glanced at Cho and then back at them. “Listen, I know it’s not much of a lead, but I’m going to go and look at this statue, at least find out what the diadem looks like. Wait for me here and keep, you know—the other one—safe,”
...
Cho had got to her feet, but Ginny said rather fiercely, “No, Luna will take Harry, won’t you, Luna?”
“Oooh, yes, I’d like to,” said Luna happily, and Cho sat down again, looking disappointed.

Re: Lily Luna Potter

[spiffariffic.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I never understood how people could say they had different personalities, because they always seemed exactly the same to me.

Re: Lily Luna Potter

[lilian-cho.livejournal.com]

I don't suppose any of them have babies at 13 like the Blacks, right?

That would be so totally awesome X-D

Re: Lily Luna Potter

[lilian-cho.livejournal.com]

you know that you can't meet anybody important after you're a teenager

X-D

and Fred would be such a huge force in Angelina's life, what with his once having taken her to a dance.

It was the time of her life! Fred pulled pranks! And spiked drinks!

I don't understand how Rowling makes all these "high school sweethearts," so to speak, end up together--considering her first marriage failed. What would make her think that a school romance will last longer? O_o

...or maybe she's just fulfilling her fantasy of going out with this totally dreamy guy in her O Level class or something =P

Re: Lily Luna Potter

[lilian-cho.livejournal.com]

Exactly! Which is why Weasleycest is not as squicky as, say, Charlie/Ginny. Because it honestly reads like a masturbation fic.

...

*slinks away*