owlbeer | Half Blood Prince Thoughts: Now With Added Coherency and Irrationality

I think my problem with it initially wasn’t so much what happened, but how it was told. It just felt a little formulaic to me, and I don’t know if that’s quite the word that I want or not. It just seemed that everything was laid out so clearly as set-up for Book 7 and I understand that that had to take place, I really do, it just seemed a little obvious in the way it was done. Like JKR was ticking off things on a list. The last 100 pages kind of broke that mould but that was my feeling up to that point. Maybe it’s just me, I’m definitely going to give it a re-read and see if I feel the same way. It might be a mood thing.

So, I liked a lot of what happened in the book, and loved parts of it. Just the way it was told kind of bugged me.

With Remus/Tonks, I think I finally figured out my issue. I know rationally that hardly anything has changed S/R, in fact nothing has. Sirius is dead, Remus might be moving on and that’s hardly a surety. (Though why mention it at all if you don’t refer back to it in Book 7, but still.) It did feel very tacked on, and there was no evidence of it in OotP and if it does happen, like I said, I’m not about to begrudge Remus any sort of happiness. It’s just, I think I held this OTP to a higher standard and became just a little too used to having no canon relationship to explain around and the fact that there might be one - even one that exists after Sirius is dead - has just thrown me for a loop. Also, that it took place in relation to a conversation about marriage, because WTF? I’ll get over it. I love these guys too much not to.

(People from the S/R side of fanom have also written some great 'rants' on the Tonks factor and how it's actually quite a big non-issue.

musesfool's here,

imochan's here,

moony's here (which is a lttle broader and doesn't just deal with S/R),

xylodemon's here and

sheafrotheredon's here. They all make excellent points that my rational brain has accepted. My irrational side will take a day or two).

While we’re talking Remus. I would like to say that I take back everything I said in the aftermath of OotP about wanting him to die. Dude. After what him staring into the flames did to me, I’d hate to think what him dying would finally do. He needs some happy. Him staring into the flames was such a simple moment but it said so much and reduced me to a pile of wibble. Seeing the crack in his veneer when he heard Dumbledore died was also so telling. Dumbledore who had let him into the school and let him teach and while it hadn’t always worked out for him, Remus would have felt he owed Dumbledore a lot. Also, Tonks deserves someone ‘whole.’ Oh, Remus. I love you.

Also, I might be holding onto the idea of Sirius coming back tighter than I may have at first admitted. I missed him a lot. I also loved the idea of Padfoot being Tonks’ Patronus. Sigh. This does also factor into the R/T point I made above but honestly brain, he's already dead. Rationally, I know he's not comng back. Irrationally, no such luck.

Dumbledore never really left my heart as he did other people's at the end of OotP but still, just that one line. 'I am not worried. I am with you.' *broken* I tear up just reading it. Also, him trying to convince Draco. Just, yeah. I wasn't surprised he died (though I was in the way he died) and I didn't really cry but it was very powerful.

As for Snape and Draco. I do really like what JKR has done with them. It's fascinating and add to that the possible Regulus factor. Wow. I do think there's a lot more going on with Snape than meets the eye. I don't think he's chosen his side, not yet. He's also probably quite doomed.

Hermione and Ron. Eh, it was always coming and like I said, I'm indifferent. I love the love that they have for Harry though. It's beautiful.

Bill, Bill. *sniffs* I must admit Fleur surprised me though and I liked that she did.

The chapter with Bellatrix and Narcissa rocked. The Black family are so fucked up and it's wonderful.

The Horcruxes were a great idea. Very effective and chilling. Voldemort's back story in general was very chilling, but not something that really affected me that much.

Small things I loved: All the hands on the Weasley clock being on 'mortal peril' *gulps* and the Gryffindor column on the House Points indicator being shattered. Just, small images but they worked.

Harry. I love that kid. Honestly, he just grew up in this book, so much. He dealt with everything that came is way. He was wonderful. I totally missed that he was going to Godric's Hollow on the first read-through too. Shit. Wow. Gah, love him.

I need to do a much more careful read through. I need to take it slow.