Snape: I like how he treats Yaxley, the reticence when Yaxley is fishing for information. And really seeing him in the company and under the scrutiny of Voldemort really shows that he has a right to the pride he showed Harry in the Occlumency lessions. His mental control must be astonishing.

Draco: his horror at the teacher hanging above the table is another clear indication that he can be redeemed. He is not evil. He is not the psychopath Harry thinks him and tries to convince the reader he is.

Lucius: I feel sorry for him. He is quite broken.

Narcissa: She is clearly the one Lucius relies on. Which is interesting considering all we have seen of Death Eaters and their women.

Bellatrix: It is odd to find a point of agreement with a violent madwoman, but we do share a similar view on the Tonks/Lupin marriage. It is an abomination. Though not for the reasons she thinks. Other than that, however, I cannot help but feel that Bellatrix has lost something here. It may be because we see her with Voldemort, but this fawning character does not appeal to me as much as the scary Death Eater. Tears and emotion are not traits I imagine as coming naturally to her. But yes, I suppose it is all down to Voldemort. She is not just a psychopath, she is a Believer.

Harry: I suppose it isn't strange, in view of his history, for him to assume that the tea cups are meant as booby traps, but surely it would have been easier for Dudley to make something not tea if that were the case. Like a piece of wood with a nail through it. Or broken glass.

The moment of Mr Dursley and Harry wondering whether Harry would save them if Voldemort took them as hostages. It passes quickly, but it is an interesting question. I cannot help think he would. He is a hero type after all. It would be his fault, so he would save them. It is clear if nothing else in his emphatic attempt to convince his uncle that he really is in danger when he could have just said "fine, your choice" and left.

Charity Burbage: We see her killed, then we learn from the Prophet that she resigned at the beginning of the summer. Do we ever find out why?

Dumbledore: The first indication of Dumbledore's past, apart from the tantalising hints in earlier books. I like how Rowling forces us to deal with wildly contradictory stories. Doge is clearly trying to smooth over too much, but she does provide some indication that he is not all wrong in having Rita Skeeter be the woman behind the opposite story, especially coupled with her hints of an "unhealthy" relationship between Dumbledore and Harry and the suggestion that Harry may have killed Dumbledore and framed Snape. But the immediate reaction of revulsion is tempered as Harry goes through it and then stops to question what he really knows about Dumbledore. It is well written. I also like how Rowling takes the old, wise man archetype and points out the obvious, which no one ever does: that they must have been young once. The creation of a back story for Dumbledore is one of the best traits of the book, I think.

Mr Dursley: I love how he wants Kingsley to protect him and would prefer to deal with the Ministry.

Dudley: His change of personality is quite wonderful. I still wonder what that memory that the Dementors caused can have been. It must have been truly terrible to cause this change.

Petunia: She is her usual caricature self until the last moment, where I think there is half a moment of being her sister's sister and leaving her nephew. Petunia knows, after all.