More discussion! *cheers* Lol, and for once I got here relatively early.
Hmm, this is a rather depressing view on the Wizarding World, but it's so true. Everything seems to be about a person's survival instincts, even Fudge, despite being in control of the Ministry...up to the end of GoF, he was always "asking Dumbledore for advice" (according to Hagrid). Does that mean Fudge was part of DD's alliance, as well? That's the sense I got from the pre-OotP days. Then technically, Fudge broke away from DD and basically started his own alliance in a way, and Percy reverred to that one because the one he was with (DD and his family) really wasn't working out for him. Among other things, of course. This is what makes me feel sad about Percy -- you mentioned that to stick to one's birthright was the only source of strength in this world, but it seemed that Percy was doomed either way. His family (well, the twins and at times Ginny, anyway) didn't respect him when he was with him, and they hate him all the more now that he's found his own way.
Sirius I find, though a bit less confusing (because knowing his rashness, I wouldn't be surprised if his choice was almost a spur-of-the-moment thing), is still really questionable. I guess I'm having thoughts about the jealousy thing between Regulus and Sirius, because there must have been a fair amount of jealousy there (on both parts, if the idea of the eldest being the heir is true), yet at first glance, it seems such a silly reason to break from the family. It was almost like Sirius was jealous of the attention lavished on Regulus by his family, but at the same time, he knew what he'd have to be like in order to get that sort of attention, and he either couldn't do it or just didn't want to (which is where the Pureblood issues tie in). And therefore, he went to find another family in which he could be the favourite just based on the way his personality was. Which is not the same as having shaky grounds with your family, knowing that whatever you do won't be good enough, so you just leave. But then, how to explain Sirius' complete hatred of Grimmauld's Place?
If Millicent Bulstrode is a halfblood she still seems a valued part of Slytherin--in fact, I love her character in general and I think she's probably part of what I like about Slytherin in general, but that's a different topic.)
Ooh, I want to hear it! I'll admit that Millicent isn't one of my favourite female characters, but I do admire what we know of her. Is she really a halfblood? (I've been looking all over for JKR's list of students, but the only one I found said that she was a pureblood. And I'm more unsure, because it also said that Lavender and Vince and Greg were halfbloods) She doesn't seem to be a part of Pansy's gang, because I think she would have been mentioned with them at least once (even by Hermione); I find that intriguing, because it could mean she has built her own personal niche in Slytherin. What also intrigues me is the way she "jumped away in disgust" when Hermione started crying on her robes -- I've heard it argued that this was because she didn't want a "Mudblood" crying on her, but if she's a halfblood then that makes no sense (unless she's a Tom Riddle type, which seems highly unlikely). To me, her disgust with Hermione's crying indicated to me that she can't stand openly-displayed weakness (it was a bit much for Hermione to begin "bawling" in front of her worst enemies at school [I'm aware she was pretending]); it kind of makes me think that she is one of those more guarded types, especially when coupled with the way she didn't smile back when Hermione smiled at her in CoS (which was an isolated incident of any Gryffindor reaching out to a Slytherin, and Hermione just ended up snatching cat hairs off of her in a plan to impersonate her). So, it really makes me wonder. Of course, your interpretation of her might be entirely different ^^*
no subject
Hmm, this is a rather depressing view on the Wizarding World, but it's so true. Everything seems to be about a person's survival instincts, even Fudge, despite being in control of the Ministry...up to the end of GoF, he was always "asking Dumbledore for advice" (according to Hagrid). Does that mean Fudge was part of DD's alliance, as well? That's the sense I got from the pre-OotP days. Then technically, Fudge broke away from DD and basically started his own alliance in a way, and Percy reverred to that one because the one he was with (DD and his family) really wasn't working out for him. Among other things, of course. This is what makes me feel sad about Percy -- you mentioned that to stick to one's birthright was the only source of strength in this world, but it seemed that Percy was doomed either way. His family (well, the twins and at times Ginny, anyway) didn't respect him when he was with him, and they hate him all the more now that he's found his own way.
Sirius I find, though a bit less confusing (because knowing his rashness, I wouldn't be surprised if his choice was almost a spur-of-the-moment thing), is still really questionable. I guess I'm having thoughts about the jealousy thing between Regulus and Sirius, because there must have been a fair amount of jealousy there (on both parts, if the idea of the eldest being the heir is true), yet at first glance, it seems such a silly reason to break from the family. It was almost like Sirius was jealous of the attention lavished on Regulus by his family, but at the same time, he knew what he'd have to be like in order to get that sort of attention, and he either couldn't do it or just didn't want to (which is where the Pureblood issues tie in). And therefore, he went to find another family in which he could be the favourite just based on the way his personality was. Which is not the same as having shaky grounds with your family, knowing that whatever you do won't be good enough, so you just leave. But then, how to explain Sirius' complete hatred of Grimmauld's Place?
If Millicent Bulstrode is a halfblood she still seems a valued part of Slytherin--in fact, I love her character in general and I think she's probably part of what I like about Slytherin in general, but that's a different topic.)
Ooh, I want to hear it! I'll admit that Millicent isn't one of my favourite female characters, but I do admire what we know of her. Is she really a halfblood? (I've been looking all over for JKR's list of students, but the only one I found said that she was a pureblood. And I'm more unsure, because it also said that Lavender and Vince and Greg were halfbloods) She doesn't seem to be a part of Pansy's gang, because I think she would have been mentioned with them at least once (even by Hermione); I find that intriguing, because it could mean she has built her own personal niche in Slytherin. What also intrigues me is the way she "jumped away in disgust" when Hermione started crying on her robes -- I've heard it argued that this was because she didn't want a "Mudblood" crying on her, but if she's a halfblood then that makes no sense (unless she's a Tom Riddle type, which seems highly unlikely). To me, her disgust with Hermione's crying indicated to me that she can't stand openly-displayed weakness (it was a bit much for Hermione to begin "bawling" in front of her worst enemies at school [I'm aware she was pretending]); it kind of makes me think that she is one of those more guarded types, especially when coupled with the way she didn't smile back when Hermione smiled at her in CoS (which was an isolated incident of any Gryffindor reaching out to a Slytherin, and Hermione just ended up snatching cat hairs off of her in a plan to impersonate her). So, it really makes me wonder. Of course, your interpretation of her might be entirely different ^^*