Narratively, it's a stumbling block. The emotional climax is clearly the Shrieking Shack, and on first reading, I thought the book took a bit too long to end after that. After that catharsis, introducing a major plot point was somewhat exhausting
I agree. This is the only bit of the whole book I'm not happy with and for much the same reasons. I don't like the concept of the time-turner, it makes it too easy to just go back and change things. Ok, so it's essentially a book about a magical world but considering so much of the morality lesson is about making our own choices and acting correctly in the present then this sticks out oddly - it isn't as though readers can suddenly decide to go back and change things they have done. and I agree it was too much after all the emotion of the Shrieking shack to stick this new idea here.
Snape's desire for Dumbledore's support and approval is very much palpable here -- Snape is asking Dumbledore to choose between him and prodigal-son Sirius, and Dumbledore's choice is very clear I think this was where I really started to like Snape because I felt so deeply angry on his behalf. I agree that it's not the Order of Merlin that he's after so much as justice and the fact that his wishes/suggestions have once again been ignored and trampled on and done so in front of other people; he's being humiliated again. It's yet another example of Dumbledore's mishandling of someone's sensibilities. I always like to think he had a one-to-one with Severus later and calmed him down!
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Date: 2004-05-28 06:29 am (UTC)I agree. This is the only bit of the whole book I'm not happy with and for much the same reasons. I don't like the concept of the time-turner, it makes it too easy to just go back and change things. Ok, so it's essentially a book about a magical world but considering so much of the morality lesson is about making our own choices and acting correctly in the present then this sticks out oddly - it isn't as though readers can suddenly decide to go back and change things they have done.
and I agree it was too much after all the emotion of the Shrieking shack to stick this new idea here.
Snape's desire for Dumbledore's support and approval is very much palpable here -- Snape is asking Dumbledore to choose between him and prodigal-son Sirius, and Dumbledore's choice is very clear
I think this was where I really started to like Snape because I felt so deeply angry on his behalf. I agree that it's not the Order of Merlin that he's after so much as justice and the fact that his wishes/suggestions have once again been ignored and trampled on and done so in front of other people; he's being humiliated again. It's yet another example of Dumbledore's mishandling of someone's sensibilities. I always like to think he had a one-to-one with Severus later and calmed him down!