Writing Warning! This thread contains unmarked spoilers!: Harry Potter, Book 6.

[Fyxe]

[QUOTE=Syk3]
[spoiler]Dumbledore is a possibility, and so, I believe, is a completely new character. Think about it. All of the titles so far deal with people or things that are introduced in each book, respectively. Sorcerer's/Philosopher's stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix.. none were titles that take something from a previous book and slap it on this one. I'm not saying it will [i]definitely[/i] be a new person, as you can see from what I've told you before, but it's not out of the realm of possibility.[/spoiler][/QUOTE]

[size=1][color=slategray][spoiler]Yes, I wasn't saying that it couldn't be a new character. But from the way J.K. Rowling has been putting it, the last two books are going to be digging deeper into the characters we already know. And because of that, I am assuming that the half-blood prince would be someone that's been in some of the books, atleast, already.
But, at least Dagger has confirmed that it's not Tom Riddle, so, we can put him aside of the possibilities. At least we are going to get to know more about his past [I]very[/I] soon.[/spoiler]

Gosh, this thread is getting me even more riled up. XD Well, only about a day and a half left. Now all we have to do is get ready for those crazy midnight parties. To bad I don't have robes... but I can totally put on my Slytherin or Malfoy shirt. XD[/color][/size]

[celestialcharm]

[quote name='Chabichou][COLOR=#004a6f']It was only one employee who did it i think. The store where it happened wasn't actually a books store, it was a "superstore". Normally, that store puts out its merchandise as soon as the get it. The employee probably made an honest mistake. It's not like EVERYONE is obsessed with Harry Potter and counting down to the second till July 16.[/COLOR][/quote]

Here's a link to the full story, if anyone wanted to know: [URL]http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2005/07/11/Arts/HarryPotter_050711.html[/URL]

[BlackTigerGurl]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=DarkSlateBlue] I love the Harry Potter series so much. It really upset me that [spoiler]Sirus dying behind that veil. I know for sure he didn't die though.[/spoiler] My mother and I have been thinking,[spoiler] is harry really the one who has to defeat The Dark Lord? We think it my be Neville because his parents were attacked by The Dark Lord also. We don't know for sure about the scar. He could have one also just don't talk about it much.[/spoiler] This is what my mother and I think though. :catgirl: [/COLOR][/FONT]

[Queen Asuka]

[quote name='BlackTigerGurl][FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=DarkSlateBlue] [spoiler]... We think it my be Neville because his parents were attacked by The Dark Lord also. We don't know for sure about the scar. He could have one also just don't talk about it much.[/spoiler][/COLOR'][/FONT][/quote]

[color=hotpink][size=1]It can't be Neville. They already stated that at first they THOUGHT it might be Neville, but it ended up being Harry because that's the family that Voldemort attacked. So yeah, Neville is out of the question.

I wore my Ravenclaw shirt today because I felt it would be TOO dorky to wear it tomorrow and EVEN dorkier to wear it on Saturday when I go get my copy of the book. >.>;[/color][/size]

[BlackTigerGurl]

[QUOTE]It can't be Neville. They already stated that at first they THOUGHT it might be Neville, but it ended up being Harry because that's the family that Voldemort attacked. So yeah, Neville is out of the question.[/QUOTE]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=Navy][SIZE=2]I kinda thought that, but my mother still thinks its Neville. :animeswea :catgirl: [/SIZE][/COLOR][/FONT]

[DDG]

[FONT=Tahoma][color=#666666]The past month the only thing that's been on my mind, in big, red, flashing letters is:[/color]

[SIZE=4][COLOR=Red]HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[color=#666666]*coughs slightly* But yeah, I've read all the stuff on Rowling's site and lately I've been reading through editorials on various things from the series(though mostly focusing on predictions for the Half-Blood Prince and the seventh book).

I'm not going to any midnight parties(though I would if I could ^^). My grandma reads the Harry Potter books, too, and she said she'd pick me up a copy when she got her copy. Where would I be without my grandma, eh? Nowhere. It'd probably be months before I got Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. My grandma bought me my copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, too(and it was real fun trying to read that huge book with a cast on my arm >>).

I thought about reading the first five books over again, though I never really did it. Sort of. I haven't reread them recently. I read all five of them again around October - November 2004 for AR points at school. If I have all day with nobody bothering me and nothing planned, I can read both the Soceror's Stone and Chamber of Secrets in one day, then start Prisoner of Azkaban the next day, finish it that same day and start Goblet of Fire. The first time I read Goblet of Fire it took me three days to read, and I think I can read it in around two, depending on whether or not people are bothering me while I'm reading. Order of the Phoenix took me three days to complete the first time and usually takes me about three to four to reread.

Half-Blood Prince is supposed to 600-some pages, right? I can't remember the exact number, but I know the number's been released. I think two days is an accurate number for me to finish it in(though if I start it on a day where any I'm asked to do a babillion things around the house, I'm sure it'll take me longer. If the day I start it on is a good day and I'm blessed with either: no chores or chores that can be done with one hand while reading at the same time, it'll take me less time to read it).

I think the Half-Blood Prince is someone we've already been introduced to . . . the theory that it's [spoiler]Tom Riddle[/spoiler] is a new one to me, and I kind of agree with it more than other theories I've heard.

[quote name='Lady Asphyxia]What I'm interested about for the next book is [spoiler]the excerpt from HPB that JKR posted on her site; you know, the description of the man who 'looked like an old lion'? I'm inclined to think that it might be the new DADA teacher, which could be interesting; has anyone noticed how the DADA teachers always play a big part in the books? I mean, you have Quirrel in PS, Lockhart in CoS [he's sort of the exception], Lupin in PoA, Moody/Crouch in GoF, and Umbridge in OotP. In each of the books they play quite a significant part, in plot terms if not actual screen time.[/spoiler'] [/quote]

*nods* I agree. Ever since I read the [spoiler]excerpt that Rowling released, I've been in the belief that it's the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. If it is, he sounds like an interesting character(it was a "he", right? I can't quite remember.). Yeah, I've noticed how the DADA teachers play a pretty important role in either that particular book or later in the story(Lupin and Lockhart, though Lockhart doesn't really play all too important a part, but in OotP he [i]did[/i] show Harry, Hermione(she was there, right? Er...bad memory.), and Ron back to his room where, 'lo and behold, his roommates were Neville's parents and a character who was murdered by a plant sent by one of the Death Eaters(if I remember correctly).) I'm sure the new DADA teacher will be no different.

I'm excited that Snape may play a more important role in HBP. I'm a Snape fangirl all the way and I want to know more about that tortured past of his ~_^[/spoiler]

By the way, has anyone read the back cover of HBP that was officially released? I did. I couldn't resist >>

Only 1 day and five minutes left until HBP is released(by my clock). I can't wait.[/FONT][/color]

[Mitch]

Yeah, so some jackasses on Livejournal are absolutely ruining this book for a lot of people. Some people applaud it. I really don't.

Someone had a certain name that gave away a lot of what happens in this book. . .as well as someone made a post about this. I clicked a link to this post and now the book's ruined in some ways for me.

Idiots.

[Ozymandius Jones]

[COLOR=DarkOrange][QUOTE=Mitch]Yeah, so some jackasses on Livejournal are absolutely ruining this book for a lot of people. Some people applaud it. I really don't.

Someone had a certain name that gave away a lot of what happens in this book. . .as well as someone made a post about this. I clicked a link to this post and now the book's ruined in some ways for me.

Idiots.[/QUOTE]

I have a friend on LJ, and one of [i]her[/i] friends has this posted.

[QUOTE=some FOAF]Dear LJ --

I will not be reading you AT ALL until after I finish reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I know all too well spoilers lurk around shadowy corners, often in places least expected. I also realize this well might mean I don't get back to LJ before September. Trust me, though, this is better for all concerned.

Conditional love,
[Username Here][/QUOTE]

And, according to my friend, she is completely serious, and she did the same exact thing for OOtP.

Also, if any of you have journalfen accounts and do [b]not[/b] want spoiled, avoid Fandom_Wank like the plague. My younger sister, who doesn't care about spoilers, went there and says they have a few pretty major ones that everyone is claiming are true and there have been no rebuttals....>.>[/COLOR]

[DBZgirl88]

[COLOR=#004a6f]Unfortunately, I've come across what I'm assuming were real spoilers. A person made a post with a list of spoilers on mugglnet.com, after those 15 books were sold. I'm not 100% they are real, but they seem rather convincing.

I won't say who the I read was the Half Blood Prince is, but:

[spoiler]It's important that the Half Blood Prince is described as looking like an old lion.[/spoiler]

Anyway, I'm just wondering how many of you are members at Mugglenet.com's forums? Or any other Harry Potter sites for the matter?[/COLOR]

[Dagger]

Yeah, I'm just going to avoid all HP-related online content (other than my sister's emails, haha--she's aware that the only thing I want to be spoiled for is whether or not [spoiler]Sirius[/spoiler] shows up outside of flashbacks) until I get home and have a chance to read the book for myself. Sadly, that won't be for another couple of weeks. :animedepr

Good luck staying away from the spoilers, everyone. And happy reading and all that jazz. I probably won't post again in this thread until around the beginning of August. But before I go into cowering-from-spoilers mode, I was wondering if anyone other than my sister & I plans on buying the deluxe edition (which features different artwork that is, in my opinion, vastly superior to the sicky-green jacket art of the standard edition). I'd love it if they went back and did similar deluxe versions of the earlier books... at the very least, I'd certainly re-buy PoA and possibly GoF.

~Dagger~

[eleanor]

[color=darkslateblue] I'm going to the Barnes and Noble release party for HBP...and my friends are dressing up, that is how obsessed they are. I won't be surprised if they completely dominate the trivia games held there. I will in a corner working on my summer reading project waiting until midnight, haha.

As for spoilers... I have a story.

I was at camp when OotP came out. Fortunately it was a nerd camp and everyone bugged the counselors enough so that instead of regular activites after class we could go to Barnes and Nobles. We did, I got the book, and I was happy. Unfortunately some kid yelled out who died, and I was devastated. I was JUST ABOUT TO GET TO THAT CHAPTER. I think I died.

:) [/color]

[Dagger]

Speak of the devil... it's like the [i]entire[/i] Internet is now overflowing with Harry Potter spoilers. I think I just ran into a really major one, and I'm trying not to let it make me [i]too[/i] pissed off. The potential spoiler concerns me because while it seems far-fetched, it could make a lot of sense when put in context. But I shall say no more. I'm convinced that I'm just cursed when it comes to spoilers. Oh, well, at least this isn't as bad as the time someone ruined Wolf's Rain for me. :animesigh

~Dagger~

[Roxie Faye]

[color=#9933ff]I've been staying away from spoilers as much as I can. I'm soooo excited for tomorrow though. On the news at around 7:00, they were showing people handing out the books at a bookstore in England - I was like... "I am SO jealous!" ;_;

My sister ordered two copies; one from amazon and one from borders, because she didn't know which one would come in first. She's picking up the borders one, so when the amazon thing comes in the mail tomorrow, it's MINE. WAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA. I LOVE POTTER. *huggles that kid with the glasses.*

The one thing I'm afraid of, though, is seeing who will die. We've all heard rumors/ suspicions, I'm sure, and I'm just... afraid. I mean, I got pissed off at Rowling after OotP for like... a month. I don't know if I can take it this time! *wails*

Like DDG, though, I'm curious about [spoiler]learning about Snape's mysterious/tragic past. I'm not exactly a Snape fangirl, but I think he's an incredibly interesting character with a lot of depth. I tried to write a fanfic about that, but it just wasn't working, mainly because it was in first person, and was just hard to write. Eheh. *_*; Some people also speculate that he's going to be the DADA teacher but I don't think so. He's supposed to be "working" for Moldywarts, so I don't know how well that would go over with the Dark Lord. ^_~ [/spoiler]

Eheh. ^^; I HEART POTTER!!!!! FOREVERSS!!![/color]

[Dagger]

[quote name='MistressRoxie][color=#9933ff']The one thing I'm afraid of, though, is seeing who will die. We've all heard rumors/ suspicions, I'm sure, and I'm just... afraid. I mean, I got pissed off at Rowling after OotP for like... a month. I don't know if I can take it this time! *wails*[/color][/quote]
I'm actually not too concerned about this. Granted, I still hold an enormous grudge against her for what happened in OotP, and I complain about it whenever I find the opportunity--but having already been through the [spoiler]all-too-sudden and almost undignified[/spoiler] death of a character I really love(d), I don't think future deaths are going to have as much of an emotional impact on me (even if in that case the emotional impact was more sheer fury than anything else, haha).

For example: I would be greatly displeased if she kills off, say, Lupin (a character who I like as much as--if not more than--the one who kicked the bucket in OotP). However, I suspect my reaction would be more along the lines of "Here she goes again" than anything else. If it's someone I don't particularly care for, which pretty much describes the entire cast beyond a few select characters, then the reaction would just be shock/awe/laughter, depending on the circumstances.

So much for not posting in this thread anymore. :p

~Dagger~

[Sandy]

Well, now the book is out, and spoilers are about. I'm totally paranoid right now about spoilers, and I'm steering clear from all H.P.-related site. ;) By now many many people have read the book, and some of them take pleasure in ruining it for others... :(

Anyway, the lineparty was pretty fun, except I ended up sleeping for most of the night. X( But the younger kids (gotta admire their energy) kept it going all through the night by dancing and doing waves with their hands and shouting (way too much). It was nice to finally meet some of my bf's friends though (and over hundred complete strangers :p ).

My bf took hundreds of photographs from the lineparty, and some of them can be viewed [url=http://www.stayoung.org/potter/lineparty05/][U]here[/U][/url]. ;) Unfortunately I'm not in any of the photos (don't know why...). :/

But I'm getting my hands on the book on Monday, after bf has read it. I must admit that I can hardly wait... :D

[KarmaOfChaos]

[color=deeppink][size=1]Well, the midnight showing was lots of fun, despite the fact that I am now utterly exhausted. I hadn't slept two nights ago (at all), and then to stay up until midnight, and then turn around and be woken up at 11 AM...let's just say, it's not pleasant. I will sleep well tonight.

One of my friends dressed up as a Cornish blue fairy (sp?), and got runner up in the costume contest, and thusly recieved a free copy of HBP, aside from the one she was already buying. So, there are a total of 3 copies of the book in the house now. My friend is behind me on her bed reading one of them now, I don't know where the other two copies got to. But I'll eventually read it. I'm pretty lazy, even about going to any sites on the internet, so I think my only danger is reading something on ff.net. So I'll keep away from there until I read it.

Oh, we also grabbed a few of the boxes that the books came in, the ones that said "Do Not Open Until July 16th". Ah. True pot-heads. Yeaa!

And now I'm off. To forage for food. (There are currently nine people living in a three bedroom house here.)

-Karma[/size][/color]

[eleanor]

[color=darkslateblue] Um. I shall sum up my experience with Half-Blood Prince with these words:

Stunned. Frustrated. Angry. Dissappointed.

Seriously, I waited at Barnes and Noble for three hours and pulled an all-nighter for this?

[b][size=4]MASSIVE SPOILERS, IF YOU MISS THIS WARNING AND READ IT I TAKE IT YOU'RE A FOOL.[/size][/b]

[spoiler]

[b]STUFF I HATED.[/b]

Ok, this is my official bitch-time about how much Half-Blood Prince dissappointed me. It is possibly the worst or 2nd worst book in the series for me.

[i][b]Plot? What? What Plot? What is this Plot you talk about?[/b][/i]: JK Rowling herself said that books 6 & 7 were like one book split into two. Good going, because now book 6 has the most watered down plot. Ever. If you asked me to give you the solid plot of Half-Blood Prince, it'd be a bunch of nonsense. Hey, ever notice the title? Harry Potter and the [b]HALF-BLOOD PRINCE[/b]. The actual 'half-blood prince' played such a minor role in the plot (whatever that was) that it astounded me that JK Rowling didn't name this book 'Harry Potter and A Bunch of Stuff and a Rushed Ending'. Things didn't get into a good flow until near the end when Harry found out what horcruxes were and Dumbledore took him to get one of Tom Riddle's horcruxes.

(Seriously, did you read the jacket summary? It was horrible! Damn, I think I could've written a better one.)

[i][b]Snape? Brilliant!, WASTED POTENTIAL![/b][/i]: If JK Rowling hadn't spent so much time elaborating on the entirely boring romance problems, maybe she could've elaborated on Snape's character instead of getting lazy and dumping it all into 'OOoOoOOo, Snape had the same background and blood-purity problems as Tom Riddle!'. Well, OoOooOo, JK Rowling, we're all SO impressed. And if JK Rowling is using this as some trick up her sleeve for the next book... Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Try and make it believable for readers in the first place, please.

[b][i]REMUS/TONKS?! Romance in GENERAL.[/i][/b]: The whole Remus/Tonks business. Disgusting. Not because I don't like the pairing (I really liked Tonks), but just the way that JK Rowling incorporated it into the book. What did it do? Nothing. Did Tonk's moping really do anything to affect the plot? No. Did ANY of this affect the plot? No. IS THERE A PLOT? Seriously, you're reading the book and every so often JK Rowling throws in some random line about Tonks moping, and then there's some random out of a cow's ass scene at the end where Tonks confesses her love for Lupin? WHAT. Jesus Christ.

Right, so I can understand the Ron/Hermione, which ultimately got on my nerves because it was being so overplayed. Harry and Ginny? Truthfully, I never wanted Harry to get together with anyone, but he had to, I'd pick Ginny. But JK Rowling did something and now I will never see the Harry/Ginny ship in a good light again.

[b][i]I'm guessing FANFICTION WRITERS TOOK OVER JK ROWLING'S BRAIN.[/i][/b]: One girl wondered if JK Rowling decided to take some rabid fangirl's version of HBP and publish it.

[b][i]LET'S FORGET ABOUT NEVILLE, LUPIN, AND OCCLUMENCY. False hopes and desires![/i][/b]: No, really! Since they seem so unimportant now. Didn't we read about 40 pages of Harry sitting through Occlumency lessons in OotP? And I can't believe JK Rowling promised all this shit like 'A great thing will be revealed about Lily Evans!'. What exactly was it? That she was good at potions?! OK! Gee, that was a revolution. And 'a lot more about Lupin will be revealed!'. WHAT?! All I learned was that Lupin is suffering, but JK Rowling decided to give him, what, 7 lines in the whole book?

[b][i]Harry and Ginny's break-up scene[/i][/b]: Wow. I can taste the cheese.

[b][i]Did JK Rowling write this in 3 months? How is everything going to tie up in book 7?[/i][/b]: I am forced to wonder, really. And considering how things are going, there is probably going to be a MASS WEDDING at the end of the whole series.


The few, the proud, the [b]STUFF I LIKED[/b].

[b][i]Bill/Fleur[/i][/b]: Ok, the part where Fleur back-talks Mrs. Weasley after Bill gets hurt is amazing. I hate Ginny. And I am starting to hate Hermione. Fleur is freaking amazing. I love her. She, Luna, Katie Bell, and Parvati are the only female characters who aren't driving me mental.

[b][i]Draco[/i][/b]: Very in-character.

[b][i]The history of Tom Riddle[/i][/b]: Was very cool. Thank you.[/spoiler]

In all, I sorely regret forcing myself to stay up the night on one bottle of Pepsi, and am grateful that at-least-I-got-a-poster-and-bracelet-when-I-purchased-the-book-at-midnight. [/color]

[Guest Raito-Kun]

[FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium][COLOR=Indigo]xD i got it last night at 1:30 in the morning ... there were so many people lined up at Barnes & Nobles ...[/COLOR][/FONT]

[Juke Box Hero]

I finished it at 8 o clock ish eastern time.... holy crap there are some earth shakers in there... the whole face of the series is irrevocably altered by the course harry has to take at the end

HUMONGOUS SPOILERS DO NOT READ IF YOU DONT WANT THE BOOK RUINED FOR YOU

[spoiler]snape is the halfblood prince, which is ironic because his book helped harry so much...the lion man is the new minister of magic... and with dumbledore's death and harry's decision not to go back to hogwarts, but rather go horcrux hunting the 7th won't be along the same lines at all... i mean no school hijinx and stuff like that, you know? I dunno if this is a positive change or not.... [/spoiler]

[Hevn]

[size=1][color=#dc9b99]God ****, me and my curiosity. Quickly highlighted that last spoiler, Juke Box. Quick enough to know who the half blood prince is, haha. That's the second time I came across a major spoiler.

I used to love this series, but the excitement waned out after some time. Maybe because I'm busy with stuff. I haven't even read OotP. But once I get my hands on the book, I'm sure I won't be able to put it down. This girl likes and enjoys Harry Potter very much, but not to the point of getting pissed off by spoilers and waiting hours at midnight for its release.

Ahh, gah! Read properly through the spoiler again. Now I'm a bit pissed at myself. u_u

Meh, I'll live.[/color][/size]

[Ailes de Velour]

[URL=http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_22620.shtml]a man commits suicide after hearing Harry Potter spoiler[/URL]

[font=arial][size=1][color=darkorchid]Humor columns are supposed to be funny. I didn't think it was. I'm just so darn sick of Harry Potter hype, I guess. Yeah, that article is fake, supposedly amusing, but whatever. I'm pretty sure playing off of other's obsessions has been way overused.[/font][/size][/color]

[Juke Box Hero]

I've read some of the rants you guys have written, and I don't disagree. I never followed any of the hype, I mean I forgot that it came out the day it did, I just happened to be at the mall and picked one up. So I guess reading it with no expectations really changes the views.... although [spoiler]moving from Cho Chang to ginny[/spoiler] was about the most idiotic thing Harry has ever done...

[Shinmaru]

I finished reading HBP a couple of hours ago. I have mixed feelings about it right now. There's lots of stuff in there that I liked, but there's a lot that I disliked about it, as well. I'm going to quote Lunox and expound a bit more on what she posted, because I agree a lot with what she said (also because it was so spirited and amusing, haha). :)

[QUOTE=Lunox][color=darkslateblue]
[spoiler][i][b]Plot? What? What Plot? What is this Plot you talk about?[/b][/i]: JK Rowling herself said that books 6 & 7 were like one book split into two. Good going, because now book 6 has the most watered down plot. Ever. If you asked me to give you the solid plot of Half-Blood Prince, it'd be a bunch of nonsense. Hey, ever notice the title? Harry Potter and the [b]HALF-BLOOD PRINCE[/b]. The actual 'half-blood prince' played such a minor role in the plot (whatever that was) that it astounded me that JK Rowling didn't name this book 'Harry Potter and A Bunch of Stuff and a Rushed Ending'. Things didn't get into a good flow until near the end when Harry found out what horcruxes were and Dumbledore took him to get one of Tom Riddle's horcruxes.[/spoiler][/color][/quote]

Yeah. [spoiler]While I was reading HBP I kept hoping that it would pick up [i]eventually[/i]... 100 pages in... 200 pages in... 300 pages in, and so on. I was incredibly disappointed with how the Half-Blood Prince was almost inconsequential to the plot, except for the whole 'OMG HARRY TRICKED BY SNAPE!!1!!1' stuff. I frowned so badly when Snape spat out that he was the Half-Blood Prince lol. Snape was my #1 pick to be the Half-Blood Prince, but the actual revelation was just incredibly flat, I thought. There was so much build up to it, but the payoff didn't really do its job.

I guess that the romance stuff was okay for showing that the students are still kids, even in the face of all the crazy shit going on, but a lot of it was just really forced. Although, really, love isn't exactly the easiest thing to translate into words... I know from experience, haha. Oh well. I'll agree that the stuff with Dumbledore and Harry fetching the horcrux was really class. That was the high point of the book, along with Tom Riddle's past and the scene with Dumbledore and Draco Malfoy near the end of the book.[/spoiler]

[quote][color=darkslateblue][spoiler][i][b]Snape? Brilliant!, WASTED POTENTIAL![/b][/i]: If JK Rowling hadn't spent so much time elaborating on the entirely boring romance problems, maybe she could've elaborated on Snape's character instead of getting lazy and dumping it all into 'OOoOoOOo, Snape had the same background and blood-purity problems as Tom Riddle!'. Well, OoOooOo, JK Rowling, we're all SO impressed. And if JK Rowling is using this as some trick up her sleeve for the next book... Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Try and make it believable for readers in the first place, please.[/spoiler][/color][/quote]

[spoiler]As I mentioned earlier, what should have been a powerful revelation that Snape was the Half-Blood Prince and had been most likely leading Harry on the entire time was just really flat (mostly because the Half-Blood Prince really didn't end up meaning all that much to the plot). Even though I had predicted Snape to be the Half-Blood Prince, the annoucement still came out of left field. It seemed like he was just written in there to get it out of the way.

And then there was also what should have been a [i]huge[/i] swerve with Snape being named Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher... but almost nothing was done with that, except the other teachers not being able to break through the spells blocking the Astronomy Tower because they haven't kept up with the Dark Arts or whatever the hell the explanation was. Even my mom, who didn't really have many bad things to say about the book after she finished it, did not like that very much at all. Blah.[/spoiler]

[quote][color=darkslateblue][spoiler][b][i]REMUS/TONKS?! Romance in GENERAL.[/i][/b]: The whole Remus/Tonks business. Disgusting. Not because I don't like the pairing (I really liked Tonks), but just the way that JK Rowling incorporated it into the book. What did it do? Nothing. Did Tonk's moping really do anything to affect the plot? No. Did ANY of this affect the plot? No. IS THERE A PLOT? Seriously, you're reading the book and every so often JK Rowling throws in some random line about Tonks moping, and then there's some random out of a cow's ass scene at the end where Tonks confesses her love for Lupin? WHAT. Jesus Christ.

Right, so I can understand the Ron/Hermione, which ultimately got on my nerves because it was being so overplayed. Harry and Ginny? Truthfully, I never wanted Harry to get together with anyone, but he had to, I'd pick Ginny. But JK Rowling did something and now I will never see the Harry/Ginny ship in a good light again.[/spoiler][/color][/quote]

[spoiler]Yeah, the Lupin/Tonks stuff left me scratching my head lol. Seemed to just Apparate out of thing air, really (pun!). I like Lupin and Tonks a lot, but Lupin's initial reaction to the pairing was similar to mine... lol. The Tonks stuff really seemed like it was just randomly tossed in there every once in a while. Didn't really seem to add very much to the story. I guess all of the pairings all coming in at once at the end was part of the 'love conquers everything' theme, but I don't think it was pulled off too expertly lol.

Ron and Hermione annoyed me a lot in this book, because they were both being a couple of real dicks. Kind of like how 'ANGST!!1!!111 Harry' annoyed me in OotP lol. I guess it's true to life, because teenagers can be real assholes, but still. It was a pretty big departure from their characters, I though, but people change, I suppose.[/spoiler]

[quote][color=darkslateblue][spoiler][b][i]LET'S FORGET ABOUT NEVILLE, LUPIN, AND OCCLUMENCY. False hopes and desires![/i][/b]: No, really! Since they seem so unimportant now. Didn't we read about 40 pages of Harry sitting through Occlumency lessons in OotP? And I can't believe JK Rowling promised all this shit like 'A great thing will be revealed about Lily Evans!'. What exactly was it? That she was good at potions?! OK! Gee, that was a revolution. And 'a lot more about Lupin will be revealed!'. WHAT?! All I learned was that Lupin is suffering, but JK Rowling decided to give him, what, 7 lines in the whole book?[/spoiler][/color][/quote]

[spoiler]Poor Neville. I like him, I wish he'd be developed a bit more, especially since he actually could have been an incredibly important figure. There has to be more to his character than 'Voldemort chose Harry over Neville'. But I guess that he'll be paired with Luna and that will be that. Whatever. I'll happily eat my words if he's developed more in the 7th book, though.

Lupin's grown steadily less important to the overall series since GoF, sadly. I hope he'll get more of a role in the next book, though I'm not getting my hopes up. I don't know how much more Occlumency will be referred to, especially now that Voldemort has closed off his link with Harry.[/spoiler]

[quote][color=darkslateblue][spoiler][b][i]Harry and Ginny's break-up scene[/i][/b]: Wow. I can taste the cheese.[/spoiler][/color][/quote]

[spoiler]I don't think that there was any way that this could have been done without it being a bit cheesy. Not any that I can think of, anyway... then again, I'm rather cheesy with romance, too, haha. The only way that could've been avoided is if Harry didn't get with anyone at all, I think.[/spoiler]

[quote][color=darkslateblue][spoiler][b][i]Bill/Fleur[/i][/b]: Ok, the part where Fleur back-talks Mrs. Weasley after Bill gets hurt is amazing. I hate Ginny. And I am starting to hate Hermione. Fleur is freaking amazing. I love her. She, Luna, Katie Bell, and Parvati are the only female characters who aren't driving me mental.[/spoiler][/color][/quote]

[spoiler]Yes, I rather enjoyed that myself. Added a lot more to Fleur's character. Before that she just made me laugh a bit, honestly. Nice to see that's she not some bitch-ass whore lol.

I think Luna's become my favorite female character in the series. She's so awesome. Her commentary during the Quidditch match was great, haha. If I knew someone one like her I'm sure I'd be great friends with her. I think it's because I enjoy quirkiness quite a bit. :P[/spoiler]

[quote][color=darkslateblue][spoiler][b][i]Draco[/i][/b]: Very in-character.[/spoiler][/color][/quote]

[spoiler]Agreed. The scene with Draco and Dumbledore near the end was excellent. I'm glad to see more to Draco than being a supreme jackass. The progression of his character from the beginning of the book until the end was well done, I thought. He'd of course be all too eager to prove himself in the beginning, but once he realizes what he's gotten himself into he can't get himself out of it. Great stuff. My love of Malfoy's character grows.

Also, making Crabbe and Goyle into little girls is just too funny.[/spoiler]

[quote][color=darkslateblue][spoiler][b][i]The history of Tom Riddle[/i][/b]: Was very cool. Thank you.[/spoiler][/color][/quote]

[spoiler]Yes, yes, and yes. Great villains are so interesting. Again, it's nice to see more added to Voldemort's character than 'I AM THE ULTIMATE EVIL FEAR ME MUDBLOODS ARGH!!11!!!'. His thirst to prove himself is similar to Malfoy's except that Riddle was more than willing to go the extra mile to achieve his aims. It's so creepy how kind and genial he could be, but then you got some of the true glimpses into his character (the scarlet flashes of his eyes, his creepy smile, etc.). Voldemort is a fun villain.[/spoiler]

Also, Lunox: [spoiler]What did you think of Slughorn? I didn't care for him too much. He was mostly there to get a raging hard-on whenever Harry showed up. He felt much more like a plot device than a real character, honestly. A lot of my disappointment from him comes also comes from his addition to the staff putting Snape into Defense Against the Dark Arts and nothing really springing from that, either. Disappointment all around.I liked the addition of Umbridge better in the last novel. She was so much fun to hate. Slughorn didn't really inspire much in me other than annoyance.[/spoiler]

Whew. So, yeah, I liked some things about the novel, but there were a lot of things that disappointed me as well. I hope that the final novel really ties things together strongly enough to put HBP in a new light, but I don't know how that would occur. Oh well. I still enjoyed it overall, I suppose.

[Guest Majeh]

I was a little dissapointed in the book Jk Rowling just did some of that to despite us[spoiler] I keep wondering why he had to die[/spoiler] but the whole thing was pretty good except a few simple things and such.

[color=red][size=1]Majeh, please use the proper spoiler tags in future. The spoiler tags are these: [spoiler]spoiler here [*/spoiler]. Just remove the asterisk to use them. -- Lady Asphyxia.[/size][/color]

[Juke Box Hero]

[quote name='Majeh]I was a little dissapointed in the book Jk Rowling just did some of that to despite us[spoiler] I keep wondering why he had to die[/spoiler']but the whole thing was pretty good except a few simple things and such.[/quote]

I'm gonna spoiler my whole post, because... well.... its spoiling:

[SPOILER] Dumbledore had to die so that Harry could truly come of age and fight the big V man to man. Before he died, Harry was just the chief sheep in the big D's flock, afterwords, Harry has to stand alone against the power of evil. I'm particularly disappointed that Hogwarts hijinx are over now... with Harry not coming back for his last year, leaving him only to quest against the remaining horcrux's and then to kill V.

Q to the wise ones: Who is RAB? Gahh I am soo puzzled....

[/spoiler]