You are probably right. I find I am easily seduced by Rowling's writing of characters. Cho, like Harry, has reasons for her actions, but they get on my nerves none the less.




On this point I am fairly certain I am not biased from the Shoebox Project. I have held this position almost since the first time I read the book, and the Shoebox Project did not come my way till much, much later.

They are bored when they attack him, but it does not follow that they attack him because they are bored. That is Harry's interpretation only. It is based in James' comment that ``This'll liven you up, Padfoot'', but again, it does not follow that they turn on Snape for diversion, out of boredom. As I read the situation, this is a continuation of a series of attacks and counter-attacks.




I don't think Snape's insult is unrealistic. He is hanging around with future Death Eaters. It is bound to be part of the group vocabulary. He is embarrassed, upset, and he draws on that for retaliation. Love, certainly teenage love, does not mean glowing open adoration. It is a complex affair. That is actually one of the things I like about this scene: I think Rowling is fairly realistic in this.

Lily's reaction also makes sense to me. Blinking, when remarked on, is a narrative convention which suggests surprise or being taken aback by something. Like Snape, being hurt, she borrows someone else's words.




In my world there is a marked difference between picking on someone because they are weak or powerless in some way (what Draco tends to do), and picking on someone because you object to their actions (like the twins do).




True.




See, I disagree. It works perfectly for me here. The first time I read it, I read her intervention simply as fair-mindedness, and then her reaction to Snape's retaliation as hurt that her help was rejected in such a rude way. Knowing what is revealed in book 7, I feel this scene opens up much more. Her objection to James and Sirius does not reflect as badly on them, and her being taken aback by Snape's words seem understated but all the more powerful. Like Lupin's reactions to Harry's mentioning his father during the Patronus lessons in book 3.




True.




I know. I have been arguing that side with others in this thread. I agree. Despite this position, however, it nags at me a little.




I don't remember either.