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Betas, fanfic, and the upcoming Potterocalypse
I forgot to mention it here, but I also finished that Tantei Gakuen Q fanfic I wanted to write for the fic contest. I submitted it on the 6th, but am still waiting for confirmation from the contest mod. I hope I can finally share the fic by August. But per the contest rules, the fic can't be posted anywhere beforehand, so we're stuck waiting.
Star-chan's beta? Check. TGQ contest fic? Check. Now, at last, I can start work on DaaGB part 4. Waiiiii! XD
And the other fannish thing I have accomplished in the past 24 hours is finishing my read-through of Harry Potter books 1-6. I would now like to share my thoughts on the series and vol 6, which is behind the cut for those who do not want to know. This is honestly only the 2nd time I have read book 6. I burned through it the moment it was published, so fast that I missed a great deal of what happened. I've debated the possibilities for Harry's ending with my mother, who is the only person IRL I know who enjoys HP as much as I do, and is able to talk about it in an intelligent manner. That sounds rude, but it's true.
I have decided to trust Snape. I believe Dumbledore willingly sacrificed his life to allow Harry to continue the fight against Voldemort. Dumbledore would have preferred to live, of course, but he accepted that it could not happen. Snape was under the Unbreakable Vow enchantment, so he had to make sure Draco killed Dumbledore, or that Snape did it himself.
Snape has shown himself to be very petty and stuck on the past in regards with his animosity towards Harry. But as someone who dealt with bullies throughout school, I still have great animosity myself. I was never hoisted up by my ankle in mid-air, but I still have strong dislike for two guys in particular. Especially my high-school bully. The 5th-grade one had youth and immaturity on his side, but the high-school one was definitely old enough to know better. Snape was indulging in his active dislike of James Potter and Sirius through his tormenting of Harry. Yes, it's petty and immature, but Snape is not a nice man. I still, however, trust his role in the overall plan. I can't word exactly why I believe in him, but I do. This a complete reversal of my opinion of Snape after my first reading of vol 6.
Trust Snape!
I do believe Dumbledore is really dead. The poison he had to drink while trying to retrieve the fake horcrux, the Avada Kedavra curse, and the fall from the tower. Yep, he's dead. Fawkes' lament and Dumbledore's portrait appearing in the headmaster's office confirm this without a doubt. Perhaps the portrait could have been faked (along the lines of what he had told Draco just before Snape killed him), but not Fawkes.
Since I knew it happened, I did not begrudge Harry his brief romance with Ginny. I was rather irked about it the first time, but oh well. *shrugs* I'm glad at how Ginny reacted to their breaking up at the end of the book. I like Ginny now, I wish JKR had featured her more strongly in the series. She's a tough, awesome girl!!
I suspect two people will be very important in vol 6: Draco and Neville. The pity that Harry felt towards Draco when he realized Draco could not kill Dumbledore, and was acting out of fear of Voldemort, is very telling. I think if they hadn't been interrupted by the other Death Eaters’ arrival, Dumbledore would have turned Draco to their side. As for poor Neville...the advancement he made in his skills through book 5, and how valiantly he answered the call to arms in book 6 are the key. Neville has been a shadow character through the books, but he's been featured in several key scenes. It could very well be that he is one to die in Vol 6. I could easily see him sacrificing himself to help Harry finally kill Voldemort.
One thing about vol 5 and 6 has bothered me for some time, but thanks to my frequenting of fanficrants, I now understand. In the US, if someone doesn't finish high school, their future is severely limited. You can barely find a job without that diploma. I have learned now that this is not the case in the UK. School is required up to a certain age (15?), and beyond that, it is completely optional, just like college is here. So Harry deciding he won't complete his Hogwarts schooling--just like Fred and George leaving in book 5 before they finished--is not a huge mistake after all. Go figure.
Oho! And as for those pesky horcruxes. We know: 1. is Voldemort himself, the final one that Harry will face. 2. The diary, which Harry unknowingly destroyed in book 2. 3. Marvolo's ring, which Dumbledore destroyed before the beginning of book 6. We suspect: 4. the Hufflepuff cup that Voldemort likely stole from that magpieish rich old woman. 5. Voldemort's snake, Nagini. 6 Something of either Ravenclaw's or Gryffindor's. And 7. Slytherin's locket, which once belonged to Voldemort’s family, and which he also stole from the rich old woman.
The final two horcruxes are the kicker. First up, Gryffindor has two known artifacts in the Potterverse. Yes, the sword Harry pulled out of the hat in book two, but also....the hat itself. In book 1, the hat says in its song that Gryffindor swiped it off his head and enchanted it to do the sorting. So it could very well be that one of the horcruxes has been in Hogwarts all this time. JKR makes no mention of the hat in vol 6, Dumbledore declares that the sword is Gryffindor's only artifact.
And the locket. Remember the locket Harry and Dumbledore retrieved from the cave at the end of the book was a fake. And the note left inside was signed R.A.B. I didn't recognize the initials on the first read-through, but my mother did. Remember Sirius's brother, Regulus?? Who fled the Death Eaters many years ago and died soon after?? Regulus (something) Black. Yep, it's him. And my mother pointed out a "heavy, unopenable" locket that is mentioned off-hand in vol 5, when the group are cleaning out one of the cabinets in Grimmauld Place. And that was one of the trinkets Sirius' house-elf Kreacher hoarded in his room/space later. The Black locket isn't mentioned in vol 6, but I suspect my mother is correct. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for Harry to pick up on it.
And those are my musings on the Potterocalypse. I'm sure I'll think of more to add later, but work calls. If anyone has any theories or observations I've missed--or would like to debate something--feel free to comment!!!