Deathly Hallows, chapter 12

[anehan]

Magic is Might

* Yeah, yeah, the Death Eaters are observing 12 Grimmauld Place. Why don't you cut straight to the story, Rowling?

* I've got to say that it's stupid of the Death Eaters to expect anyone to appear there, not when they are so obvious about keeping an eye on it.

* The kitchen is now polished to perfection, all thanks to the mysteriously changed Kreacher. Even Kreacher's ordering Harry about isn't enough to make me reconciled to this new state of things.

* Well, Snape can't be a worse headmaster than the previous one.

* IIRC, this is the second time that "Merlin" is used as an expletive in this book, this time by Hermione.

* The other teachers won't accept Snape as a headmaster? Oh, come on, Ron, that's naïve even for you. The slightest reflection should make it clear that they have no choice.

* "The quality of Kreacher's cooking had improved dramatically since he had been given Regulus's locket." Nonononono! *whimpers*

* Exposition alert! An infodump about new Ministry policies. Stupid policies, if you ask me; there only so that the Trio can put their plan into action.

* Hermione is worried that the plan will go wrong, because so much relies on chance. Get used to it, Hermione, since that's what you'll be relying for the rest of the book.

* It's so very Harry to have a plan that's likely to go horribly wrong, only to be rescued by luck.

* Am I the only one who thinks that real reason for Ron's reluctance to have Hermione with them is misplaced chivalry?

* Master, Master, Master. Shut up, Kreacher!

* Harry's scar hurts again. It just doesn't make sense that Voldemort suddenly stopped using Occlumency after using it for the previous book. IMO it's there only so that we can get periodical updates about what he is doing. Oh dear, consistency.

* Hermione knows very well that Harry doesn't know how to use Occlumency, so what use is it telling him he shouldn't let Voldemort into his mind?

* Harry gets angry when Hermione suggests that the reason he never really tried to learn Occlumency is because he likes to have this special connection to Voldemort. Oh, I don't know, Harry, I think what she says has some merit.

* It's rather rich of Harry to tell Hermione to forget Dumbledore when he's himself been all about doing what Dumbledore wanted him to do.

* And off we go to the Ministry, armed with a plan with very little chance of succeeding.

* Frankly, the reason why they gave Mr Magical Maintenance Puking Pastilles instead of stunning him makes no sense. The Stunned bodies would be in the empty; they wouldn't be attracting anyone's attention.

* Stupid of them to have Harry impersonate someone who they know nothing about.

* The official entrance to the Ministry is quite stupid. I'm getting bored of these supposedly quirky habits the Wizarding World has, such as this and the moving staircases at Hogwarts. I'm sure they're meant to be funny, but they only make wizards look incredibly stupid.

* The Death Eaters have no subtlety. Magic is Might, indeed.

* Yaxley's face is brutish, and he's dressed opulently. No doubt his Polyjuice Potion would be mud-coloured. After all, blood will tell.

* A very short recap this time, for which I apologise. The chapter was boring as hell. We're only a third way in, and already I am heartily sick of this book.




Atomic Grenade:
Puking Pastilles. Guaranteed instant hurling.

Designated Hero:
Master, Master, Master, Master. Our Hero is so noble that lower life-forms can't help but worship him.

Informed Attributes:
The Trio's plan will word. Really.

Final score: 3.

Comments

[ellecain.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I'd make a distinction between escapism and wish fulfillment - the latter seems to be the driving force for the majority of Mary-Sues in literature and fanfic. Escapism, to me suggests a desire to play around in the fictional world.

It's a little like the difference between fanfic and badfic - they're both about escapism to some extent but badfic is a more personalised, specific kind of wish fulfillment tailored to the writer's version of the ideal romance or whatever. Am I making sense?

[jodel-from-aol.livejournal.com]

Well, back in the jurassic, when I was still sitting in classes "escapism" was a very nasty, pejoritive label to slap on something. One which could quite effectively keep the public libraries from stocking it. I suspect there has been a semantic shift since then, and the term has become comparitively respectable. Which is not exactly the way I meant it.

Of course fantasy has also become comparatively respectable since Tolkein, which it wasn't at all when I was a child. And the level of cheese which is being deployed in it nowadays suggests to me that it is likely to become faintly disreputable again Any Day Now. Like she said above, it's cyclic.

But there is nothing about either escapism, or, if you will, wish fulfillment that is limited to fantasy. Most of the very cheesiest examples are churned out by the ream in stories which pretend to be set in the everyday world. Only what everyday world have you ever lived in where a plain wallflower suddenly becomes the most popular girl in her class just by getting contact lenses or following her mother's advice on how to dress? Even the elf and dragon extravaganzas rarely go that overboard.

[seductivedark.livejournal.com]

Only what everyday world have you ever lived in where a plain wallflower suddenly becomes the most popular girl in her class just by getting contact lenses or following her mother's advice on how to dress?

LOL! My mother firmly believes in that world.