Comments | hbp_chapters: HBP: Chapter Thirty

amanuensis1 in hbp_chapters

HBP: Chapter Thirty

Jun 25, 2005 22:06

Warning: Do not post any comments here if you have read beyond chapter 30 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

This is the discussion post for Chapter 30 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (and for all chapters prior to chapter 30). SPOILERS are expected to be contained in these comments for all of these chapters--though not for ( Read more... )

Comments 198

my impressions II zedmeister July 16 2005, 10:51:59 UTC

5. SNAPE: ...where to begin? He played such an integral role in this book, but he hardly appeared on stage. I have to say that I found the whole "half-Blood Prince" plotline more than a little annoying and superfluous; the whole book would have much better if she had simply cut it out entirely. (Ditto on Slughorn and McLaggen.) That aside, his interactions with Bellatrix, Narcissa, and Draco were very very interesting. What caused him to make the Unbreakable Vow? Was it affection for Narcissa? An attempt to lay Bellatrix's suspicions to rest? A gesture of true loyalty to the Dark Lord? DID HE EVEN KNOW WHAT HE WAS SWEARING TO DO? Rereading that chapter, I'm more and more sure that he was simply bluffing about being informed of the plan in order to extract more information from the sisters. It wouldn't surprise me at all to learn that he had no idea what it was Draco was supposed to attempt ( ... )

Re: my impressions II cellia July 16 2005, 22:19:08 UTC

I am definitely leaning towards your impression of Snape's AKing of Dumbledore, but I'm still a little uncertain about how the line "Snape gazed for a minute at Dumbledore, and there was revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face" fits into it all. Hatred and revulsion for what he had to do? He was thinking about something else? These seem weak explanations to me.

On the other hand, it's also entirely possible that Snape disliked Dumbledore, but was still loyal to him. The certainty Dumbledore had about Snape's loyalty might have been more because of some spell than his desire to see an old student redeemed.

As for all the HBP stuff, there was a lot of superfluous stuff in the book. Did the thing with Kretcher ever end up going anywhere? Still, much of it was entertaining, rather than draggy, and it was nice to see some Slytherins who were not rushing off to become evil Death Eaters.

Re: my impressions II zedmeister July 17 2005, 00:13:10 UTC

Although Snape disliking Dumbledore would be a wonderful twist, I think it's simply revulsion and horror at the the fact that he's killing Dumbledore. If it really is a question of redemption (and it probably is, let's face it), I'd think that Snape would rival Harry in his loyalty to Dumbledore. He's also Dubledore's man.

Also, garlandgraves has brought up the idea that that gaze might have involved Snape and Dumbledore exchanging thoughts via Legilimancy in her brilliant post, so that's another thing to consider as a possible source of the hatred and revulsion.

Re: my impressions II cellia July 17 2005, 04:12:20 UTC

Ah Legilimancy! Another possible mitigation! Thanks for the link as well.

Thread 8

my impressions III zedmeister July 16 2005, 10:53:54 UTC

10. THE POWER: It's been now openly acknowledged as love, which ends that debate. There's still no hint of how, exactly, Harry is supposed to use it, though, Initially, I thought that Dumbledore was showing him the pensieve scenes in order to stir up some compassion in him for Tom, but then it turned out to be about the Horcruxes, so that idea's shot.

Well, that's pretty much it for now. I'll probably break this up and flesh it out into individual posts once I get some sleep and am more coherent. Cheers!

Mods: if I shouldn't have posted this here, sorry! Let me know and I'll take it down.

ex_monochro174 July 16 2005, 11:40:16 UTC

My more detailed reactions here. In summary ( ... )

(The comment has been removed)

adjectivegirl July 17 2005, 04:54:26 UTC

Oh god, ditto. I was like "Did anyone else just read that? Anyone?!"

Room of Requirement/Draco OTP!

pyrodagger July 18 2005, 11:58:21 UTC

He was really making a Harry Potter Blow-up Doll of his very own. Sold only in Knockturn Alley.

I had to reread it to see if it was actually there.

apurva July 16 2005, 12:34:58 UTC

I've been crying honestly for maybe 3 hours straight, but I really liked the book. I did not see the Snape thing coming, and even after the beginning chapter with him and Narcissa, I still thought maybe perhaps Hermione was right and he was good, since Dumbledore couldn't be wrong about him for sooo long. And I'm still really upset that Dumbledore died. Love that man.

smaragdgrun July 17 2005, 04:31:34 UTC

Don't despair! Snape is definitely still good! He and Dumbledore were plotting together from the beginning, and certainly using Legilimens during the fateful scene. It was necessary. Sad, but necessary to the ultimate success. Dumbledore was definitely right to trust Snape.

apurva July 17 2005, 16:30:16 UTC

YES. Actually after a lot of thinking yesterday, I realized this. And when Dumbledore was saying "Severus. Please" he was asking him to kill him. And when they were arguing earlier they were arguing about how Severus would have to kill Dumbledore.

So good! valentine9409 July 16 2005, 12:47:07 UTC

"I need to see what Draco Malfoy is doing inside you" - best line ever, I have to agree. I might write a whole fanfic just based on that line - gotta be a kinky one ( ... )