Deathly Hallows, chapter 4
Jul. 25th, 2008 05:24 pmThe Seven Potters
* Hedwig is sulking. Even she understands how stupid it is of Harry to lock her in her cage.
* Lupin is "greyer, more lined". In every book, Lupin looks worse and worse. I swear, he should have wasted away years ago.
* According to Kingsley, Harry is more important than the Muggle Prime Minister. Too bad we haven't seen Harry do anything to demonstrate this to us. As it is, I remain sceptical.
* Harry can't be Flooed, Portkey'd or Apparated out of 4 Privet Drive. So take him to Mrs Figg's and Apparate him away.
* The Trace. I think I've said all there is to say about it in the previous cap. The bloody thing makes no sense.
* "With You-Know-Who out there and half the Ministry on his side?" My, Voldemort has been busy. He's done more during this summer than in the previous two years together.
* According to Moody, Voldemort is bound to have a Death Eater or two on the lookout. Tell me again, why didn't he do that in the previous two years? Kidnap Harry in OotP and save us the tedium of reading through HBP and DH.
* Harry's Polyjuice Potion is a clear, bright gold. Remember the muddiness of Crabbe's and Goyle's? They were evil already at the age of 12. Remember, it's your choices that... Wait a minute, what am I saying? Some people are born good and some people evil.
* Good thing we have the Polyjuice Potion tell us about Harry's goodness. Otherwise we might have had some doubts, what we the Unforgivables an all that.
* Notice that Fleur doesn't change size when she drinks Harry!Juice. Just observing.
* "Bill, don't look at me -- I'm 'ideous." Ahahahahaaaa!
* Six naked Potters. *leers*
* Fleur give Bill a soppy, slavish look.
* Moody won't lock the back door, since it won't keep the Death Eaters away. Maybe not, but at least it'll keep the neighbourhood children from ransacking the house while the Dursleys are away. Dear me, what am I talking about? No one cares about the Dursleys' property. They're just dirty Muggles.
* Why aren't the Potters and their guards Disillusioned? Quite aside from the fact that Muggles can now see them flying, why are they making the Death Eaters' job easier? Logic, what Logic.
* Hedwig died. Cheap, Rowling, cheap.
* Harry is doing magic willy-nilly. Whatever happened to the Trace?
* What is dragon fire and why haven't we hear of it before?
* Stan Shunpike's face is strangely blank. Maybe it's supposed to tell us that Stan is Imperio'd, but why would the Death Eaters take an Imperio'd person with them to such a delicate mission? I much prefer to think that Stan really is a DE.
* I don't get why the DE would think Harry's the only one who'd use Expelliarmus against them. Surely it's not that obscure a charm, considering that it was the first charm the students were taught in the Duelling Club in CoS. It doesn't make sense.
* Oh dear, here we have the incident of Harry's wand acting of its own accord. More things that don't make sense.
* Well, that was boring.
Designated Hero:
Harry's Polyjuice Potion reveals his essential goodness.
Hero's Death Battle Exemption:
The Killing Curses miss Harry by millimetres.
IITS:
Why can't Harry be Apparated away? IITS!
Final score: 3
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Date: 2008-07-25 05:37 pm (UTC)Rowling seems heavily "inspired" by whatever she is reading or watching when she wrote these things. Perhaps Garbo's Camille was on cable for awhile? Le Cough.
Harry's Polyjuice Potion is a clear, bright gold. Remember the muddiness of Crabbe's and Goyle's? They were evil already at the age of 12. Remember, it's your choices that... Wait a minute, what am I saying? Some people are born good and some people evil.
I couldn't stop laughing at that. In the Potterverse the choices you make as a 1 year old last a lifetime. Obviously there have never been eviler babies than Crabbe and Goyle. Except maybe the infant lil' Orphan Tommy.
"Bill, don't look at me -- I'm 'ideous." Ahahahahaaaa!
Those Frenchies, always worried about their looks. *eyeroll* Fleur needs to work on her blazing stares.
Maybe not, but at least it'll keep the neighbourhood children from ransacking the house while the Dursleys are away.
If Harry Potter didn't leave anything in the house, then the conclusion for the reader is that there was nothing in the house of value.
Stan Shunpike's face is strangely blank. Maybe it's supposed to tell us that Stan is Imperio'd, but why would the Death Eaters take an Imperio'd person with them to such a delicate mission? I much prefer to think that Stan really is a DE.
Stan was just following through on all those bad choices he made as a toddler. Evil. Evil among us, I tell you.
Everywhere....evil babies...planning mayhem.
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Date: 2008-07-25 06:32 pm (UTC)LOL
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Date: 2008-07-26 06:13 pm (UTC)Was it Ursula K. LeGuin who called the Potter books ethically mean-spirited? Whoever it was, they were right.
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Date: 2008-07-26 07:47 pm (UTC)Q: Nicholas Lezard has written 'Rowling can type, but Le Guin can write.' What do you make of this comment in the light of the phenomenal success of the Potter books? I'd like to hear your opinion of JK Rowling's writing style
UKL: I have no great opinion of it. When so many adult critics were carrying on about the "incredible originality" of the first Harry Potter book, I read it to find out what the fuss was about, and remained somewhat puzzled; it seemed a lively kid's fantasy crossed with a "school novel", good fare for its age group, but stylistically ordinary, imaginatively derivative, and ethically rather mean-spirited.