The Prince's Tale

[ack_attack]

Comments

[wikkidgothbabe]

So much about Severus, and yet... still not enough.
i KNEW he was good, though! Ha!

"Would you like me to do it now?" asked Snape, his voice heavy with irony. "Or would you like a few moments to compose an epitaph?"

Best. Quote. EVER.
Snape FTW!!!!

[lanie_lou]

I still think the most heartbreaking part of this whole chapter is Lily and Petunia as children when they both really loved each other but Petunia completely cuts her out because she is jealous. I wonder if Petunia regrets her decision and has just gotten in too deep with Vernon at this point, or if she blames Harry for Lily's death.

Petunia and Lily.

[stormdrains]

Yes! It was so interesting to realize how close Lily and Petunia were as children. It also permits us to see that Petunia is possible of being loving, caring, and protective - and not just in the gross, over-indulgent way she is with Dudley.

I wonder if Petunia regrets her decision and has just gotten in too deep with Vernon at this point, or if she blames Harry for Lily's death.

a) I suspect that Petunia regrets her decision, although probably not consciously because that would be too painful.
b) I think she's also gotten in too deep with Vernon. But maybe one day she'll divorce him and realize all of this? Probably not, but here's hoping.
c) Maybe she does blame Harry for Lily's death! I never thought of that.
d) ... But I think that she is mostly just jealous of him for having all the powers that she herself was denied.

Dumbledore

[pica_scribit]

I disagree. I think he showed some tough love to Snape, and I think he was very right to do so. Snape fucked up, and it would not have been any good for Dumbledore to have told him it was all okay, because it wasn't. Snape wanted to make up for what he had done and the only way he was ever going to be able to do that was by protecting Harry and working against Voldemort. Dumbledore gave him a chance to do that when many would not have. It was Snape's own choice to take that chance, as it is now Harry's choice whether or not to sacrifice himself to save the world. He has a knack for showing people how it is, but he leaves them to make their own choices based on that. I don't think he used Snape or Harry at all -- certainly not the way Voldemort uses people. He valued them and trusted them and did his best to protect them. No, he was not perfect and he made many mistakes in his long life, but he's human as the rest of us, and I for one still think he is awesome.

Re: Dumbledore

[purpleyuan]

Well said! I complete agree. Dumbledore never planned on "manipulating" people, and I really hate it when people use that word to describe Dumbledore because it's completely wrong. Dumbledore really did care for everyone, and he did his best. What would you do in his situation?

Dumbledore rocks like none other.

[squirrelarmy]

REMUS and TONKS. ;____; I nearly died myself.

And Snape is finally explained a little more thoroughly, and even though I still don't like the guy, I do understand him a bit more. And he's still hilariously sarcastic, so yay for that. :D And super yay for Lily for being KICKASS.

[stormdrains]

Blahblah one hour blahblah horrible tragic deaths (it was obvious that Teddy Lupin was going to be an orphan when Harry was made his godfather

[stormdrains]

No, I didn't mean that at all! But sometimes when I complain about writing in children's books (especially this series) I get the "OMG IT'S JUST A CHILDREN'S BOOK - lower your standards, already!" response. Which never makes sense to me, since there are loads of children's books that I think are written to a better standard than most "adult" novels.

[hassibah]

Obviously Snape loves Lily, but half the time the descriptions read like he just lusts after her - descriptions of him "watching her greedily" etc. I don't know about you, but when people watch me "greedily" I usually interpret it as creepy and objectifying, not loving.

well he's nine and doesn't have a clue, that's kind of the point. supposedly as we mature we learn to respect people and not do those things as we have any experience. that's why i let ron's girl handbook slide, they're all young and totally clueless about romance.

i don't think that was a result of rushed writing at all, it seems very deliberate on jo's part throughout the series, and she makes a point of illustrating how the "good" characters are the ones that get past it. it was used as a contrast.

if i had to criticize this reveal, it's that maybe there's a little more info than is necessary here-like would snape really have thought in his dying hour that harry really needed to watch the whole hat sorting ceremony? but it's a minor point for me.