Harry Potter Book Discussion *SPOILER ALERT*

[Clevernick]

Tessa, I'm just shocked that you're reading this thread and you haven't read the book! Apologies for giving so much away!

I had more questions following onto my last ones --

The only major jobs in the wizarding world appear to be:

1) Ministry of Magic civil servant
2) Hogwarts teacher or staff
3) Shopkeeper or tavern proprietor, or manufacturer of magic goods
4) Working with Dragons in Eastern Europe
5) Pro Quiddich player or organizer

Given this dearth of choices, and that Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny don't seem to work at Hogwarts, that says that none of the four become Hogwarts headmaster. I wonder who succeeds McGonagall?

And if they're not working at Hogwarts, does this mean that Harry and Ron are either helping George out with the joke shop, or putting in time at the Ministry? Does Harry become Minister of Magic? He seems a natural for it, so why not mention it?

What does the brilliant Hermione do with her talent? Surely raising kids with loveable lummox Ron doesn't occupy much of her planet-sized brain.

What about the brave Ginny?


One final comment, and it's snarky. I really love the books, but still -- Ron and Hermione's continued difficulty expressing their feelings for each other, and Harry's pathetic continual whinging about whether Dumbledore had really loved him and trusted him, are possible only in chick literature.

They were fun as plot devices when the kids were 14-15, but are really just irritating at 17. Only in chick-lit would they survive.

Harry Potter's series is thus, despite its brilliance, still a chick-lit classic. I found myself wishing that Rowling had outsourced some of the last book to a man, say, George Lucas.

This would have made no real change to the "I just love Hermione like a sister" moment, or the "Harry, I, Snape, am not your father, but I wish I had been" moment, or even the rebels' breaking into the Ministry of Death Star scene. But it would have removed a lot of the womanly whining from characters who should have balls.

I don't recall Luke ever wondering if Obi-Wan (or Vader) had really loved him. Men know better than to write that stuff.

I'm just sayin'

Grins,
C