Hm. Agreed, I think. And I don't know if Dumbledore fully trusts Harry to keep his mouth shut on the Snape matter... the less people know about it, the better.

Yes, it does offer some depth to his character... though Rowling makes clear he was a sociopath from the start, even if his childhood wasn't the easiest. I like how she avoided the cliché traumatic orphanage thing and replaced it by a flawed but well-intentioned one.

Yes. And then Ginny has to go and ruin it. See below.

I liked the comment about how she "left Harry to ponder in silence the depths to which girls would sink to get revenge". Which is so true - seriously, what the hell is that about? Dating someone else so Ron will realize he wants her, fine, even though Ron *already* realizes and is already employing the same tactic, so it isn't the smartest tactic to begin with. But dating someone she can't stand just to annoy Ron... that is indeed incredibly lame.

But prior to that, yes, I felt quite sorry for Hermione too.

And how. The "roaring monster" thing seemed slightly over the top, but it's amusing.

He's realized before that Ron's issue is confidence, and since he's never been slow in practical issues, I'm not surprised.

No. My main reaction - this time around, can't remember on earlier reads - is bewilderment. Why exactly is Ginny successively "beside herself", "snorting with derisive laughter" and "close to tears now"? That she would get mad and try and get her brothers out of her love life for once and for all, is understandable. But her getting so very upset about it suggests there's more to it. Guilt seems like the obvious explanation - after all, she was raised in the same somewhat puritan family as Ron, perhaps part of her does feel guilty for going through boyfriends at such a rate, particularly since she's still got her sights set on Harry at the end of the day. Frustration too, maybe.

Either way, her tantrum there (temporarily) spoils the careful steps Ron and Hermione had been taking towards each other, and causes Hermione great pain, so I wouldn't applaud her for it, no. Of course Hermione then goes and does even more questionable things, and in the end she does get Ron where she wants him, but still.

Exactly.

Yeah, we never really get an explanation for that one... but it's a good choice.

Yep.