Initial reactions to DH - *SPOILERY*
Jul. 23rd, 2007 08:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iesikaThese are my initial gut reactions to Deathly Hallows, chapter by chapter. I sat down and tried to type these Saturday morning at like 10am (after being up dorking all night, and needing to digest a bit before I could possibly fall asleep). I got up to about chapter 7 and decided the Wii (my internet source at home, since I am sans computer) was not the way to type something this long, and also that I was exhausted and could sleep now.
Anyway, heavy spoilers ahead.
Anyway, heavy spoilers ahead.
1. The Dark Lord Ascending - I read this while still in line to buy the book, and startled everyone around my when I squeaked. I did manage to smother my urge to shout "OMG POOR DRACO! OMG POOR SNAPE!", which is definitely what I was thinking at the time. And then I thought, if Snape is evil, am I going to feel dumb for thinking this, and realized, no, I would not, because watching a coworker and probably friend, be murdered and eaten by a giant snake while knowing you were being watched for any sign of negative reaction? That would suck, even if you were evil. Unless you were Bella, who would love it.
2. In Memoriam - My strongest thought about this chapter was that the interweb was going to be full of Dumbledore/Doge by Monday. And I definitely wondered why he was keeping Hedwig locked up.
3. The Dursley's Departing - I now <3 Dudley just a little bit. All I could think at the end of the chapter, and into the next one, was "she's going to kill Dudley, isn't she," but then I was distracted because
4. The Seven Potters - This premise was used in a Harry/Draco fanfic, and seemed totally unbelieveable but rather cool and effective (I can't find the story now, but in it there are several HUNDRED polyjuiced Harrys in the final battle, and they all have numbers written on their arms and torsos so that they can be identified if they died fighting and didn't change back. I was shortly after completely distracted from thinking about this and just sat in my chair thinking "Nooooo! Hedwig! That was dumb! Dumb and awful!" and then "OMGNOTHAGRID!!!" But I did love the crash into the pond.
5. Fallen Warrior - I think the missed portkeys were an excellent plot device. On first reading, I was all like "don'tbedeaddon'tbedead", but not thinking any particular names. I just didn't want anyone to be dead. But, it makes sense that someone did need to die at this point in the book, and even if it seems mean, I'm glad it was Mad-Eye. The alternatives would have been much worse.
6. The Ghoul in Pajamas - OMG Hermione is so fantastic. Her parents! And she's so matter of fact about everything. Hermione is just fantastic. As is Ron's ghoul. Did he think of that, himself?
7. The Will of Albus Dumbledore - Ron gets the put-outer, Hermione gets a book I really want to read, and Harry has to kiss the snitch, which sounds kind of kinky. The minister is a moron ("why is your birthday cake a snitch, Harry, what deeply coded signal is that meant to send") but Tonks and Remus fleeing hand in hand over orchard fences is just the funniest mental image, to me. And probably the only moment of their interaction in the entire series that I like.
8. The Wedding - Krum! And Luna's dad! OMG! And Auntie Muriel, with her "Get out of my way, I'm 107. Bring me liquor! I will rudely criticize strangers all I like! I am 107. My goblin made tiara is so pretty. (I had read the chapter list, before starting, and was absolutely certain, at this point, that Fleur had a horcrux on her head. Talk about "something borrowed"). Hearing that the minister died without telling them anything about Harry rather redeemed him a bit, in my eyes. Oh, and I also became even more sure Dumbledore/Doge was going to be a big thing.
9. A Place to Hide - I love the image of the trio fleeing down a street in Muggle London in full dress robes. Probably people thought they were leaving the opera, or something. Those crazy kids and crazier rich people, dressing like idiots. Hermione's Evening Bag of Holding is so her, and I want one. I also love the idea that Jo probably wrote the chapter at that cafe, or something, since she says she does most of her writing in cafes.
10. Kreacher's Tale - I, like a lot of people, had worked out who RAB probably was, ahead of time. Like, the moment I read the note in book 6. I was actually disappointed, briefly, to find that his middle name was Arcturus and not Alphard (after his uncle), purely because that would have made me psychic. Or, you know, reasonably adept at recognizing foreshadowing. I also had the thought that Kreacher had been involved, somehow, though I probably picked that up from someone else. It had never occured to me, though, that they ought to ask Kreacher about the horcrux. I fail at SPEW! I don't think that it occured to anyone else, either, though, because I've never seen that in a fanfic. I also I didn't expect Regulus to have drunk the potion himself (rather than making Kreacher do it), but I like him better for having done so. I wish we knew more about his motivations, though. I adore Kreacher from here on out.
11.
The Bribe - Kreacher versus Dung was almost as good as Dobby versus Kreacher. I particularly love him rushing forward and smacking Dung with a pan. That was priceless. I was rather a bit surprised that the locket did not free Kreacher, but I guess it technically isn't a garment. Kreacher is so fabulous, once he gets his bling. God, I love house elves! And Umbridge is...beyond words.
12. Magic Is Might and 13. The Muggle-born Registration Commission - I feel totally safe from Godwin's Law in stating that the MoM have turned into Nazis. Wow. Just. Wow. I could write a paper on the next few chapters, heavily citing Philip Zombardo's Lucifer Effect. Jo did this part very well, with all the petty beaurocracy of terror. I love that Harry just couldn't let it go on. I love that Arthur is strong and defiant in the face of it all. I love the absolute confusion and chaos caused by Ron's double. I only wish that Harry's polyjuice had worn off for just a few seconds at the end so that everyone could have seen who rescued them, though I'm sure the rumormill came up with the same explaination within an hour. The Order, at least, would know the whole story as soon as Lupin heard one of the Patroni was a stag. And OMG that STATUE! (In my head, ever since I wrote that tabletop HP RPG my friends and I played, the MoM atrium sports a gold statue of the trio, back to back to back, wands raised, and a phoenix rising on a jet behind them, like out of fire - so the horrible ugly evil scary Bosch statue hit me really hard).
14. The Thief - At the time I was thinking "was that Doge, off traveling Europe, or something?" Also, I thought the wand he wanted was a horcrux. I can't remember right now (and Sister has my copy) whether Ron splits in this chapter or the next, but as much as it hit me in the gut, I knew it was necessary to his character development. I also knew he would be back.
15. The Goblin's Revenge - I knew there would be Goblins! I knew it! And I knew we'd see Griphook again, since he's our first-named Goblin. I love the idea of these bands of outcasts and rebels, who couldn't be more different, banding together to stay alive, hiding from theEinsatzgruppen Snatchers. I here became even more convinced "the Diadem" was Aunti Muriel's Goblin Made Tiara. I wanted so badly for Harry to step out of the tent and give those poor scrappy rebels and refugees some hope, but I understand why he couldn't. They should have at least sent a paper airplane out to Dean and Ted, though. Oh, and I absolutely adore that Dean is uncertain about his parentage, knowing what we know. I adore dramatic irony. I adore it, and this chapter is full of it.
16. Godric's Hollow and 17. Bathilda's Secret - The first chapter of this set is so bittersweet and Christmassy and clean and pretty and sad, with Harry's visit to the grave and Hermione's Xmas roses...Bathilda was kind of creepy from her first appearance, but I mostly thought Rita had done something awful to her, getting he memories about Dumbledore. She felt like a sad old lady with dementia to me, until the moment she wanted Harry to come up with her without Hermione. That twigged me all kinds of wrong. I have to say, the idea of a giant snake living inside a dead person, keeping her animate, and then erupting from her decaying body...wow. That was the most terrifying moment in the whole series, with creepy flying Voldemort on his way, and Harry seeing the confrontation through the wrong eyes... Just , yikes.
18. The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore - Forget Dumbledore/Doge. OMG. GRINDELWALD! And, and, he's all charming and mischevious and handsome, too. I'm amazed this hasn't shown up on![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
pornish_pixies yet. They had Slug Club fic up like, an hour after I finished reading book 6. All fandomy stuff aside, though, I really loved learning more about Dumbledore, and the mystery presented by Rita's unflattering storytelling, particularly combined with what Auntie Muriel told us back at The Wedding. I'd like to say I knew then Harry was going to have to use the wand Grindelwald had stolen, but it didn't even occur to me.
19. The Silver Doe - My first thought, when Harry sees the doe, was "Goddamnit, that had better not be Ginny! That's too cheesy." After all my folklore studies, though, I was absolutely thrilled that Harry was stripping naked to dive into a body of water in the middle of winter and retrieve a magical weapon given to him by a woman (I thought). I was like, wow, archetypes much? And then, boom, drowning choking Harry gets dragged out of the water by fully clothed and furious Ron, and I screamed with laughter so hard that I saw little sparkles at the edge of my vision and my sister came and told me to shut up. This may be my favorite chapter of the book. I really, really loved our glimpse into Ron's deepest fears and insecurities, and "beautiful and terrible" locket Hermione. I love that Ron won the sword, that Ron destroys the Horcrux, and that RON HAS BEEN TRYING TO GET BACK FROM THE MOMENT HE LEFT THEM! OMG! I <3 RON SO MUCH!!!
20. Xenophilius Lovegood - I love the Lovegood House, though I find it a bit strange Ron had never seen it before and only knew the general direction to go. Ottery St. Catchpole can't be that big. I started to suspect something was up pretty quickly into the chapter, when Luna kept being "almost done" with the plimpies...but I thought she was dead. Which made me quite upset, and I was so sad for her father who obviously couldn't accept that she was dead, and had gone round the twist. The truth was just as horrible. I'm not mad at Xeno for what he did to the trio. I really feel for him. Luna is all he has in the whole world. I think most parents would have done the same thing he did. Hermione in this chapter was brilliant, as usual. Just, boom, through the floor, haha! And the Erumpet horn! This chapter also made me even more certain that Ravenclaw's horcrux was at the Burrow. Luna's paintings of her friends very nearly made me cry, especially since I was thinking at the time she might be dead.
At this point, I'm starting to get really shaky on what happened within the boundaries of what chapter. Sister has my DH, and anyway, I'm at work. I'll continue this later.
2. In Memoriam - My strongest thought about this chapter was that the interweb was going to be full of Dumbledore/Doge by Monday. And I definitely wondered why he was keeping Hedwig locked up.
3. The Dursley's Departing - I now <3 Dudley just a little bit. All I could think at the end of the chapter, and into the next one, was "she's going to kill Dudley, isn't she," but then I was distracted because
4. The Seven Potters - This premise was used in a Harry/Draco fanfic, and seemed totally unbelieveable but rather cool and effective (I can't find the story now, but in it there are several HUNDRED polyjuiced Harrys in the final battle, and they all have numbers written on their arms and torsos so that they can be identified if they died fighting and didn't change back. I was shortly after completely distracted from thinking about this and just sat in my chair thinking "Nooooo! Hedwig! That was dumb! Dumb and awful!" and then "OMGNOTHAGRID!!!" But I did love the crash into the pond.
5. Fallen Warrior - I think the missed portkeys were an excellent plot device. On first reading, I was all like "don'tbedeaddon'tbedead", but not thinking any particular names. I just didn't want anyone to be dead. But, it makes sense that someone did need to die at this point in the book, and even if it seems mean, I'm glad it was Mad-Eye. The alternatives would have been much worse.
6. The Ghoul in Pajamas - OMG Hermione is so fantastic. Her parents! And she's so matter of fact about everything. Hermione is just fantastic. As is Ron's ghoul. Did he think of that, himself?
7. The Will of Albus Dumbledore - Ron gets the put-outer, Hermione gets a book I really want to read, and Harry has to kiss the snitch, which sounds kind of kinky. The minister is a moron ("why is your birthday cake a snitch, Harry, what deeply coded signal is that meant to send") but Tonks and Remus fleeing hand in hand over orchard fences is just the funniest mental image, to me. And probably the only moment of their interaction in the entire series that I like.
8. The Wedding - Krum! And Luna's dad! OMG! And Auntie Muriel, with her "Get out of my way, I'm 107. Bring me liquor! I will rudely criticize strangers all I like! I am 107. My goblin made tiara is so pretty. (I had read the chapter list, before starting, and was absolutely certain, at this point, that Fleur had a horcrux on her head. Talk about "something borrowed"). Hearing that the minister died without telling them anything about Harry rather redeemed him a bit, in my eyes. Oh, and I also became even more sure Dumbledore/Doge was going to be a big thing.
9. A Place to Hide - I love the image of the trio fleeing down a street in Muggle London in full dress robes. Probably people thought they were leaving the opera, or something. Those crazy kids and crazier rich people, dressing like idiots. Hermione's Evening Bag of Holding is so her, and I want one. I also love the idea that Jo probably wrote the chapter at that cafe, or something, since she says she does most of her writing in cafes.
10. Kreacher's Tale - I, like a lot of people, had worked out who RAB probably was, ahead of time. Like, the moment I read the note in book 6. I was actually disappointed, briefly, to find that his middle name was Arcturus and not Alphard (after his uncle), purely because that would have made me psychic. Or, you know, reasonably adept at recognizing foreshadowing. I also had the thought that Kreacher had been involved, somehow, though I probably picked that up from someone else. It had never occured to me, though, that they ought to ask Kreacher about the horcrux. I fail at SPEW! I don't think that it occured to anyone else, either, though, because I've never seen that in a fanfic. I also I didn't expect Regulus to have drunk the potion himself (rather than making Kreacher do it), but I like him better for having done so. I wish we knew more about his motivations, though. I adore Kreacher from here on out.
11.
The Bribe - Kreacher versus Dung was almost as good as Dobby versus Kreacher. I particularly love him rushing forward and smacking Dung with a pan. That was priceless. I was rather a bit surprised that the locket did not free Kreacher, but I guess it technically isn't a garment. Kreacher is so fabulous, once he gets his bling. God, I love house elves! And Umbridge is...beyond words.12. Magic Is Might and 13. The Muggle-born Registration Commission - I feel totally safe from Godwin's Law in stating that the MoM have turned into Nazis. Wow. Just. Wow. I could write a paper on the next few chapters, heavily citing Philip Zombardo's Lucifer Effect. Jo did this part very well, with all the petty beaurocracy of terror. I love that Harry just couldn't let it go on. I love that Arthur is strong and defiant in the face of it all. I love the absolute confusion and chaos caused by Ron's double. I only wish that Harry's polyjuice had worn off for just a few seconds at the end so that everyone could have seen who rescued them, though I'm sure the rumormill came up with the same explaination within an hour. The Order, at least, would know the whole story as soon as Lupin heard one of the Patroni was a stag. And OMG that STATUE! (In my head, ever since I wrote that tabletop HP RPG my friends and I played, the MoM atrium sports a gold statue of the trio, back to back to back, wands raised, and a phoenix rising on a jet behind them, like out of fire - so the horrible ugly evil scary Bosch statue hit me really hard).
14. The Thief - At the time I was thinking "was that Doge, off traveling Europe, or something?" Also, I thought the wand he wanted was a horcrux. I can't remember right now (and Sister has my copy) whether Ron splits in this chapter or the next, but as much as it hit me in the gut, I knew it was necessary to his character development. I also knew he would be back.
15. The Goblin's Revenge - I knew there would be Goblins! I knew it! And I knew we'd see Griphook again, since he's our first-named Goblin. I love the idea of these bands of outcasts and rebels, who couldn't be more different, banding together to stay alive, hiding from the
16. Godric's Hollow and 17. Bathilda's Secret - The first chapter of this set is so bittersweet and Christmassy and clean and pretty and sad, with Harry's visit to the grave and Hermione's Xmas roses...Bathilda was kind of creepy from her first appearance, but I mostly thought Rita had done something awful to her, getting he memories about Dumbledore. She felt like a sad old lady with dementia to me, until the moment she wanted Harry to come up with her without Hermione. That twigged me all kinds of wrong. I have to say, the idea of a giant snake living inside a dead person, keeping her animate, and then erupting from her decaying body...wow. That was the most terrifying moment in the whole series, with creepy flying Voldemort on his way, and Harry seeing the confrontation through the wrong eyes... Just , yikes.
18. The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore - Forget Dumbledore/Doge. OMG. GRINDELWALD! And, and, he's all charming and mischevious and handsome, too. I'm amazed this hasn't shown up on
pornish_pixies yet. They had Slug Club fic up like, an hour after I finished reading book 6. All fandomy stuff aside, though, I really loved learning more about Dumbledore, and the mystery presented by Rita's unflattering storytelling, particularly combined with what Auntie Muriel told us back at The Wedding. I'd like to say I knew then Harry was going to have to use the wand Grindelwald had stolen, but it didn't even occur to me. 19. The Silver Doe - My first thought, when Harry sees the doe, was "Goddamnit, that had better not be Ginny! That's too cheesy." After all my folklore studies, though, I was absolutely thrilled that Harry was stripping naked to dive into a body of water in the middle of winter and retrieve a magical weapon given to him by a woman (I thought). I was like, wow, archetypes much? And then, boom, drowning choking Harry gets dragged out of the water by fully clothed and furious Ron, and I screamed with laughter so hard that I saw little sparkles at the edge of my vision and my sister came and told me to shut up. This may be my favorite chapter of the book. I really, really loved our glimpse into Ron's deepest fears and insecurities, and "beautiful and terrible" locket Hermione. I love that Ron won the sword, that Ron destroys the Horcrux, and that RON HAS BEEN TRYING TO GET BACK FROM THE MOMENT HE LEFT THEM! OMG! I <3 RON SO MUCH!!!
20. Xenophilius Lovegood - I love the Lovegood House, though I find it a bit strange Ron had never seen it before and only knew the general direction to go. Ottery St. Catchpole can't be that big. I started to suspect something was up pretty quickly into the chapter, when Luna kept being "almost done" with the plimpies...but I thought she was dead. Which made me quite upset, and I was so sad for her father who obviously couldn't accept that she was dead, and had gone round the twist. The truth was just as horrible. I'm not mad at Xeno for what he did to the trio. I really feel for him. Luna is all he has in the whole world. I think most parents would have done the same thing he did. Hermione in this chapter was brilliant, as usual. Just, boom, through the floor, haha! And the Erumpet horn! This chapter also made me even more certain that Ravenclaw's horcrux was at the Burrow. Luna's paintings of her friends very nearly made me cry, especially since I was thinking at the time she might be dead.
At this point, I'm starting to get really shaky on what happened within the boundaries of what chapter. Sister has my DH, and anyway, I'm at work. I'll continue this later.
