chthonya | Initial reactions

Okay, very brief note of my reactions before I speak to anyone else...

I feel sated now. I hope I'll feel the same way after a nap - OotP left me feeling rather lost. This book was less bleak and more significant.

The one weak point for me was Dumbledore/Harry's explanation for trusting Snape. There has to be something more to it than that. I was thinking maybe he'd given Dumbledore an Unbreakable Vow and that he'd end up dying at the moment of killing Dumbledore.

But Snape as an open member of the Dark Side - there's a villain whose abilities we can respect.

Yay for:

- Lucius still being alive!!!! (Though if his safety depends on Draco's abilities, I'm not too confident.)

- Finally, Draco growing a third dimension - and doing so without losing his attitude.

- Lucius/Narcissa ship not only floating but looking pretty much as I had imagined it.

- Awesome drama in the last scenes. I have to eat my hat over my scepticism over the 'big battle' - but I can't imagine what's in store for the next book. I really thought she'd spin the Snape thing out to the end, and maybe that's still got some way to run, but Hogwarts without Snape, Draco or Dumbledore is going to be a very different place indeed.

- A fantastic first chapter - I was chortling all the way through it. And yay for Fudge not being completely inept.

- Such a beautiful closing paragraph, with not a train or a Dursley in sight.

- A return to complex plotting - there was a lot I didn't guess, but a lot of details I picked up before they were spelled out - a satisfying combination, imo.

- Borgin and Burkes backstory.

- Explanation of Voldy's changing appearance.

- Regulus being a hero :)

I'll be interested to see how this affects the fandom, particularly shippers of:
*Remus/Sirius
*Hermione/redeemed!Snape
*Harry/Hermione (will those wars finally die down?)

The scope for Year 7 fics is wide open now. Hopefully we'll have a good and productive interval for writing them. :)

Thank you, JKR. My faith is restored.

My parents are coming up tonight and staying amid my piles of junk for a couple of days to help me sort some things out. So I won't be able to be online nearly as much as I'd like, if at all. See you all midweek!