Harry naming Albus Severus after Dumbledore and Snape

[scrollgirl]

This is an unpopular opinion, I suspect, but I really really hate those posts that mock Harry for naming Albus Severus after Snape (and Dumbledore), and basically argue that Harry should have named his kid after Remus, Neville, Fred, etc. -- anyone but Snape. And yeah, I totally accept that argument if you're saying that Harry should have backed

Comments

[ponygirl2000]

I hate the book convention of naming the children after everyone their parents have ever met - if you ever want to have me go on a rant let's talk about how Anne of Green Gables, with the most original of imaginations, ended up with a half dozen children all uncreatively named after people she knew - but I can't understand why people are getting upset about Harry's son. I'm not a fan of the epilogue but in all the parade of new kids and their significant names, little Albus Severus (I hope the kid just goes by Al) was the only one that mattered, because his naming actually revealed something about where Harry was as a character. Do fans really not want Harry at the end to have a happy ending, complete with a signifier that he's accepting and forgiving of the past? It is nice to know that while fandoms may sleep they do come roaring to life at the slightest of pokes!

[cactuswatcher]

(I hope the kid just goes by Al)

Yeah, when I was growing up there was a baseball player named Albert who was called "Albie." At the time I thought it was one of the most dreadful nicknames I'd ever heard. ;o)

[scrollgirl]

Yes! Such a good point about Anne's kids -- maybe the oldest child you name after a loved one who passed away, but not one of six kids has an original name? So sad.

Yeah, I'm iffy on the epilogue from a story-telling perspective, because it's like JKR went down a list of characters we needed to check in with and ticked them off. The Harry-Albus Severus conversation is the only thing that really matters, which is why I find it so satisfying and wish more people in fandom appreciated the poor kid's name! (And yes, I think he's called "Al" in the epilogue.)

I haven't metaed in a while, but it was nice to take a crack at Harry Potter fandom again!

[cactuswatcher]

The character of Ginny has always been a bit unfortunate, always a secondary character, always needing to be protected, always drooling over Harry, almost always passive. If Rowling had given her a bit more of a chance as the series progressed, it might have seemed like she had a will and ideas of her own. Then it might have been possible to believe Ginny had come up with the name Albus Severus and that she had needed to convince Harry, who'd felt guilty for years about how he'd once thought of Snape, it was the right thing to do. That discussion when she was pregnant would have been a better epilogue than the one we got. As it is, I sort of see J K Rowling acting as Harry's doting mother and being a very overbearing mother-in-law for Ginny. (It would be asking a lot of Rowling to let go. None of Harry's peers, not even Ron or Hermione, could do much of anything positive in the series without either standing next to Harry or running to tell him about it.) The symbolism of the name Albus Severus was right. How the name was

[scrollgirl]

Ginny's not my favourite either, but I don't mind her and she always came across to me as hot-tempered and almost aggressive, so I'm not sure I quite agree about her being passive. Definitely I agree Rowling could have written the epilogue with less cheese -- I wouldn't touch the Harry-Albus Severus conversation, but the lead up to it could have been a bit more nuanced, a bit looser in its structure, instead of basically doing a head-count of half the Weasley clan.