(#) brad 2008-03-17
Oh dear, poor poor Hermione!! I'm quite angry that Pansy just isn't automatically killed to partially make amends for her crime, and give Hermione a few extra years. The idea that she was let off merely for money - she's still walking free as far as society knows, right, even though her family might have chosen to punish her further - is infuriating. Still, that's the result of having such a corrupt culture that puts such stock in 'blood lines' and the like, I suppose, which is the point you're making.
Nice little analysis of the 'real' Harry at the beginning of the chapter.
"The incident which set Harry and Hermione off" ... why am I hoping that Harry and Co. will take the offensive at some stage and start getting in some pre-emptive strikes? :-)
A few readers here have assumed that Lupin is the one who's dead, but I don't know ... you might be pulling a swifty on us, it might be Ron instead.