Hee, I also had to put the book down during the weekend to spend time with the SO. I was very antsy during those times, but I tried.
I agree HBP moved much faster. She finally stopped giving gratuitous exposition when re-introducing a character or location, and stopped describing all the little nick-nacks in the rooms we had already visited. I kind of wish we'd seen more of the DADA classes, but we got plenty of Snape anyways. The kids weren't complaining about it too much, so he must have been a descent teacher.
I thought Andromeda was oldest, too. I may have to re-read that chapter (for many reasons). The hp-lexicon (http://www.hp-lexicon.org/wizards/black-family-tree-image.html) lists Andromeda as middle daughter, but I don't know what clues they used to determine that.
Also, did you find it weird that people thought Dora Tonks might spend the Christmas Hols "with family"? I don't know why, but I always got the impression that people spoke about Andromeda in the past tense. I keep wondering if she's alive, and if so, why haven't we seen her. (Although, we may have seen her and Harry didn't recognize her.)
For some reason, I didn't piece together that Draco's intended victim was Dumbledore. I figured he would die, but I thought Draco's mission would have something to do with Harry. Clearly, not all conspiracies revolve around the title character.
Agreed on the portrayal of the age group. Harry appeared to recover from his grief a bit too quickly, but his mastery of avoidance tells me it's still an issue.
It's certainly a possibility that the final Horcrux is an unknown object. When Dumbledore remarked that the only remaining artifact of Gryffindor's was the sword, it wasn't even the only remaining artifact in the room. He conveniently forgot the Sorting Hat. (Not that I'm saying it's the Sorting Hat, only that DD's comment was not accurate.) Other artifacts may exist. If Harry is some way related to Godric Gryffindor, maybe the artifact was at Godric's Hollow. (That location name HAS to mean something.)
I agree there has to be more to why DD trusted Snape. He was not as naive as Harry's explanation would make it appear. I try not to look at interviews with JKR too much, but the stuff she says about Snape and book 7 are tantalizing.
Oh, and I totally agree that we finally have a scene that might actually challenge Rickman. He's an excellent actor, and capable of playing the role to be both ambiguous and faithful to JKR's sekret info.
Alas, Emmeline Vance! As soon as I read "the Bones and Vance murders" I shouted, "No!" at my book. Did JKR have to kill off one of the few females in the Order, and a potentially sympathetic female character? Granted, it was important to point out that non-Order members were also getting attacked, but still. Did they have to both be female?
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I agree HBP moved much faster. She finally stopped giving gratuitous exposition when re-introducing a character or location, and stopped describing all the little nick-nacks in the rooms we had already visited. I kind of wish we'd seen more of the DADA classes, but we got plenty of Snape anyways. The kids weren't complaining about it too much, so he must have been a descent teacher.
I thought Andromeda was oldest, too. I may have to re-read that chapter (for many reasons). The hp-lexicon (http://www.hp-lexicon.org/wizards/black-family-tree-image.html) lists Andromeda as middle daughter, but I don't know what clues they used to determine that.
Also, did you find it weird that people thought Dora Tonks might spend the Christmas Hols "with family"? I don't know why, but I always got the impression that people spoke about Andromeda in the past tense. I keep wondering if she's alive, and if so, why haven't we seen her. (Although, we may have seen her and Harry didn't recognize her.)
For some reason, I didn't piece together that Draco's intended victim was Dumbledore. I figured he would die, but I thought Draco's mission would have something to do with Harry. Clearly, not all conspiracies revolve around the title character.
Agreed on the portrayal of the age group. Harry appeared to recover from his grief a bit too quickly, but his mastery of avoidance tells me it's still an issue.
It's certainly a possibility that the final Horcrux is an unknown object. When Dumbledore remarked that the only remaining artifact of Gryffindor's was the sword, it wasn't even the only remaining artifact in the room. He conveniently forgot the Sorting Hat. (Not that I'm saying it's the Sorting Hat, only that DD's comment was not accurate.) Other artifacts may exist. If Harry is some way related to Godric Gryffindor, maybe the artifact was at Godric's Hollow. (That location name HAS to mean something.)
I agree there has to be more to why DD trusted Snape. He was not as naive as Harry's explanation would make it appear. I try not to look at interviews with JKR too much, but the stuff she says about Snape and book 7 are tantalizing.
Oh, and I totally agree that we finally have a scene that might actually challenge Rickman. He's an excellent actor, and capable of playing the role to be both ambiguous and faithful to JKR's sekret info.
Alas, Emmeline Vance! As soon as I read "the Bones and Vance murders" I shouted, "No!" at my book. Did JKR have to kill off one of the few females in the Order, and a potentially sympathetic female character? Granted, it was important to point out that non-Order members were also getting attacked, but still. Did they have to both be female?