Harry Potter Progress: Deathly Hallows

hosted by Faith @ GeekyZooGirl and Micheline @ Lunar Rainbows Reviews

From last night's midnight release for Cursed Child at Barnes & Noble. Face paint (classic Harry, of course) and the beautiful wand that chose me at Olivander's.

Right. So I meant to post loads more during Harry Potter Month than I actually did. Sorry about that. Stuff and reading made the schedule crazy sauce. I did manage to get some thoughts down to turn into blog posts, so before I settle in for the last of Deathly Hallows, if I can finish it one go, I wanted to get some of these thoughts out there, before they become null and void.
Apologies upfront if there are any misspellings; I've been primarily listening to the series, not reading it.

Spinner's End -Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
*fangirl flail*
Snape vowed WHAT NOW?
I don't think you understand. From the very beginning, ever since I read Sorcerer's Stone, I've wondered whether Malfoy is going to wind up standing against Voldemort, instead of with him. Up to now, I've formed a theory that towards the end Pansy Perkinson would wind up his girlfriend -and get killed by or because of Deatheaters. That would set Malfoy against Voldemort and his Death Eater parents. I liked this theory. It involved heartache, a harsh reality check, and the moment when Draco Malfoy has to decide what kind of man he wants to be.
It pales in comparison to what I see coming down the road now.
Snape has vowed to assist and protect Draco in accomplishing some impossible task for the Dark Lord? What if... What if Snape dies to keep this vow?
Now there's a wake up call for Draco Malfoy. Because the most magnificent way to pull that off is for Snape to protect Draco against the hand of Voldemort himself, once it's quite clear on whose side he truly stands. And there Draco will be, having watched his favorite teacher become an enemy who died to protect him from the Dark Lord who set him up to fail as a punishment for his father.

Granted, I have no idea how this part of the story goes down. This is a theory right now.

But holy crap I love it.

So this is already a tad outdated. First of all, I see Draco's parents slinking out of Voldermort's grip the first substantial chance they get. Draco's impossible task for the Dark Lord was getting Death Eaters into Hogwarts and, possibly, killing Dumbledore. Not quite sure yet whether that was part of the actual task. At any rate, it's been done. Completed. So unless Snape's vow extends past helping Draco with the task -again, not sure- Snape wouldn't be compelled to protect Draco. Well, under the Unbreakable Vow, anyway. Which leads to the not outdated bits of my theory. I'm still far too attached to this idea that Snape's eventual reveal as a traitor to the Death Eaters and consequential death will be what pushes Draco to make his own choice. There have been so many influential teachers at Hogwarts for Harry, I would love to see the equivalent of that affect Draco just as much.

This is all, of course, assuming that Draco Malfoy EVEN TURNS INTO A HALF DECENT GUY! I have been convinced from the start -the very first book I stated in my review that I wanted to see a good development in Draco, and that hasn't changed. Especially after Half-Blood Prince. Good gravy, I want to see it time ten now!

Neville Longbottom -Somewhere between Order of the Phoenix finale and Half-Blood Prince
I save this for last, because this is where all the feels are. Seriously. This is my Most Desired Moment. Please, please let me have it!

I really like Neville. I like that he's forgetful, and a little clumsy, and that Harry and the gang like him anyway. In the very first book he caught me with his all around adorableness, but at that end, when he stood up to his friends and won Gryffindor that House Cup -! That did it. That won me over.
And then to find out about his parents? Heartbreak, man. Makes me love him even more.

I'm really interested to see what the last books do for him. At first, I hoped that Neville would finally find the courage to stand up to Snape, but there was something I read online a while back, a comment someone made about how Neville considers Snape his greatest fear and he faces him on almost a daily basis. That's like Ron sitting in front of a giant spider for hours throughout the week without running away screaming!

That's when I realized I don't really want Neville to stand up to Snape. Don't get me wrong; it would be cool to see. A good huzzah moment for the beloved Longbottom. But what I really, truly want?

See, the whole thing is that Snape thinks Neville is worthless, stupid, and slow. Seriously. As a student, Snape thinks Neville is a failure. And Snape doesn't hesitate to voice that opinion. That's half the reason why Neville is so afraid of him.

That's also why I don't want to see Neville simply stand up to his terrifying teacher. Instead, I want to see Neville impress Snape. I don't know how or why, but I hope with all of my fangirl heart that Snape will witness Neville do something so incredibly wonderful and brave and courageous that he can't even help a look of admiration on his face, that he can't even try to hide how impressed, surprised, and startled he is.

I'm not even sure Neville Longbottom needs to notice; he doesn't need to see that look on Snape's face, even if the rest of the world does. Because with whatever this deed is, I want Neville to realize he doesn't need Snape's approval, or even his grandmother's. I want him to realize just how much he's worth, exactly as he is, with the confidence to stand up to his friends when he knows it's right, the determination to excel at Defense Against the Dark Arts against all odds, the resolve to take on Dolores Umbridge when Harry needs a distraction, and the courage to brave the Department of Mysteries when Voldemort himself could very likely be there.

That is what I really want to see.

Here I go...
Also, I'm annoyed Ron has stormed out on Harry and Hermione and he better get his butt back into gear.
Bonus points if Neville's Heroic Moment involves Beatrix Le Strange.
And Lupin! My heart aches for my favorite tortured werewolf but -sorry, guys- Harry was totally in the right place to tell Lupin off. I hope he swims in that guilt until his fingers get all pruny and he realizes Harry is right and BY GOLLY ROWLING IF HE OR TONKS OR THAT BABY DIE I WILL NOT FORGIVE YOU!

Keep the pages turning!