"Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" out tomorrow!

[Immortal Wombat]

Dumbledore said "only a true Gryffindor would be able to..." - which could be read either way really. I'm sure it would have been mentioned already if he was, especially in relation to Voldemort choosing him over Neville.

[Guynemer]

However, after the book-long implication that Harry was actually a descendant of Slytherin, that statement heavily implies that Harry is actually a descendant of Gryffindor. I'd agree with you otherwise, but with the Parseltongue and everything else going in...

[SpencerH]

Originally posted by Guynemer
I thought it was already known that Harry was a direct descendant of Gryffindor? Wasn't this explained (or at least heavily implied) at the end of COS?

I just thought of my second point and then I saw this post (which is related).

The evidence to date (scanty though it is) suggests that Harry's father was pureblood. Given that all purebloods are related to some degree, it would mean that Harry is related to the Blacks, Malfoys, etc and Voldemort.

I doubt that it means anything, but it popped into my head earlier (and then I forgot it).

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Guynemer
I thought it was already known that Harry was a direct descendant of Gryffindor? Wasn't this explained (or at least heavily implied) at the end of COS?

Nope... just a true Gryffindor student. Nothing indicates that he'd directly related, though that may be a revelation.

[pchang]

Hasn't this reached the post limit for closure yet?

[Guynemer]

200 more Harry Potter posts to go. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.





Slughard Finally a Slytherin character who isn't totally evil. Sure, he's a vain, pompous, social-climbing jackass, but his heart appears to be in the right place.

[Imran Siddiqui]

SlugHORN, Guy .

Yeah, and I liked him. I still have some home from other Slytherin's to prove themselves.

[Guynemer]

Yes, of course, Slughorn.

What Rowling did with Draco was really quite remarkable.

She took this sniveling little stuck-up horse's ass who we all hate, and escalated him from petty bullying to full-blown pure evil. And at the same time, she actually made him sympathetic, something which had seemed impossible up to this point.

I still don't think he's going to amount to any good whatsoever, despite what Snape did for him. No matter what Riddle decides to do to him or his parents, there is no way Draco turns to the good side.

[Imran Siddiqui]

He could do something semi-heroic. You know, something that keeps him out of Azkaban.

[Guynemer]

I hate that little twerp. Even though Rowling made me feel a twinge of sympathy for him, I hope Riddle AK's him into oblivion. Or Bellatrix Cruciatuses him into madness. Or Grayback just rips out his effing throat.

[Nacht]

Originally posted by Guynemer
However, after the book-long implication that Harry was actually a descendant of Slytherin, that statement heavily implies that Harry is actually a descendant of Gryffindor. I'd agree with you otherwise, but with the Parseltongue and everything else going in...

taken from this interview

MA: What about Harry's family — his grandparents — were they killed?

JKR: No. This takes us into more mundane territory. As a writer, it was more interesting, plot-wise, if Harry was completely alone. So I rather ruthlessly disposed of his entire family apart from Aunt Petunia. I mean, James and Lily are massively important to the plot, of course, but the grandparents? No. And, because I do like my backstory: Petunia and Lily's parents, normal Muggle death. James's parents were elderly, were getting on a little when he was born, which explains the only child, very pampered, had-him-late-in-life-so-he's-an-extra-treasure, as often happens, I think. They were old in wizarding terms, and they died. They succumbed to a wizarding illness. That's as far as it goes. There's nothing serious or sinister about those deaths. I just needed them out of the way so I killed them.

MA: That sort of shuts down Heir of Gryffindor [theories], as well.

JKR: [Pause.] Yeah. Well - yeah

So the Gryffindor heir theory is now pretty much shot down.

[Imran Siddiqui]

WOOOT! Part 3 of the interview is up! Thanks Nacht. I didn't notice .

Time to read it .

[Sandman]

I had a crazy idea as to who R.A.B. might be, aside from Regulus Black.

Maybe it's Bertie Botts... also known as Robert Botts?

[Jaguar]

Got the book yesterday, and finished in only 5 hours of reading. Now that is lightspeed. I am normally a midnight person, but I am on vacation in Spain and I was having fun doing other stuff. Plus they are fairly rare and expensive over here.

I think the most important question is whether Snape is a Judas figure (bad through and through,) or... an Edmund figure, (Referring to the Narnia Chronicles, of course, where Edmund betrays Aslan but gets redeemed) or something entirely different, someone who killed Dumbledore on Dumbledores own orders.

I will have to reread carefully for textual clues at some point. However, I am loaning my copy to a pretty girl. Having geeky hobbies in common


RAB is Regulus Black. Harry Potter plots might be convoluted, but they are not packed with red herrings. Do not overanalyze.

I think the series is every bit as much a story of Severus Snape as it is a story of Harry Potter at this point. Kind of like how Star Wars became the story of Darth Vader. Personally I think Snape is out for himself and himself only, but I am unsure.

Imran, Harry/Luna always looked stupid. Ron and Hermione was made clear in GoF, and Harry and Ginny was made clear one book later. Remus and Tonks was a kind of random pairing proposed by fans, so I am surprised it made it into the books.

I liked the reference to the movies, where Slughorn mistakenly calls Ron "Rupert."

I really liked the memories of Tom. I thought they were well done.

The final word: Harry as a horcrux is a decent theory, but not a brilliant one. So calm down.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Harry/Luna always looked stupid.

Not to some (who haven't posted so much on this thread)... who consistently argued that it was going to be the case.