First limerick

A limerick, occasioned by the discussion in Pottersues
Sadly, it is not slashy or even the least bit sex-related; however, it is my first limerick and I'm proud of it. (And simultaneously ashamed-- why do I have so much more trouble with five lines than with fourteen?)

A Potions professor named Snape
Felt trapped in his job--no escape!
But, said he with a grin,
I will never give in:
I'll teach DADA one day, just you wait!

and two more limericks

Two more, and still no sex. I'm working on it, though.

I was minding the brats in the morning,
With Potter and Weasley suborning
All my efforts to teach
When I had to beseech
Argus Filch to give them a warning:

I don't care if Poor Potter's in mourning
For Black, or if young love's a-bourning;
If I catch them again
Stealing platypus fin,
Paddle marks will their rears be adorning.

My first drabble

Last night I joined hpsquick100 and posted my first drabble ever. Severus/Harry, written for the Christmas challenge, "Deck the..." can be found in this original post, or inside the lj-cut below. If you have anything you'd like to say about it... please do. And I do mean "anything"--I believe in constructive criticism.


Title: Deck the...
Author: oddplaces
Word Count: 100 (MS Word)
Pairing(s): Severus/Harry
Challenge: Christmas
Notes: Not exactly squicky; more like, eccentric kinks and/or humour. This is my first drabble; please suggest anything you think would improve it. I live to learn.


Harry very, very carefully inspected the racks of tinsel on the store shelf, occasionally plucking at a bit of the shiny stuff before moving on. He was, he thought mischievously, being as picky as Uncle Vernon—only his concern wasn’t for the price of the stuff.

That night, Severus thrashed impotently, his wrists secured to the bedframe with hideous, itchy Muggle kitsch. His struggles faded, however, when Harry took him in one smooth stroke, Seeker’s hands roaming across his body. Heated breath lapped over his earlobe as Harry leaned over.

“I told you I’d change your mind about Christmas spirit.”


Happy Christmas, all!

TPM Sonnet

Another TPM sonnet, finished today but still in need of revising. It doesn't even have a real title, yet, and it's rather rough.

Sonnet to a Fallen Master

Now I must go along without your face,
Your gentle words, your ever-bearing strength,
To keep me running straight the weary race,
Turn after turn down the expanding length
Of days that stretch ahead, a whole life long,
Abandoned to my own unsure device.
Oh, Master, did I ever do you wrong?
How was it my own love could not suffice
To hold you in this world, here at my side?
Why did you run ahead, the Sith engage?
Were you with my love so unsatisfied?
Master, I failed you; in subsequent rage
I slew the Sith, heart open to attack,
But not even the Dark could bring you back.

something for WiP Amnesty... Week

WIP Amnesty... Week
Since it's been extended till Wednesday, I suppose I should release some of the literary eggs I'm brooding. (Or at least tiny snips of them.)

( This one's an HP/RL that's been lurking on my hard drive for... well, a long time. )

I haven't entirely given up hope on this one, but it looks like it will be a long time in the making. Too, even these snips need some heavy reworking in places, I think. And then there's my inability to decide tiny nit-picky details like prices or sandwiches... Sigh.

News Flash: email confirms OTP

I love Isis. See here, where she receives inescapable proof that HP/SS is, in fact, the OTP, according to her random work email.

You know you read too much slash when...

This has been circulating on the After_Class mailing list, and I asked permission to post the responses here. It's long, so it will be in at least two parts. Man, it was fun watching everyone come up with these!
( Warning: LONG! )

You know you read too much slash when (2)...

And here's more!

( Warning: Still Long! )

You know you read too much slash when (3)...

You Know You Read Too Much Slash When (Part Three):

( Warning: Yes, you guessed it. Still really long. )

A minor pet peeve

...that really ought to be obvious: Please use two letters when indicating a pairing within a summary. Please. Unless you're writing for, say, a small list dedicated to one pairing, the rest of the world has no idea what that "H/D" means if they find it on a large site like mugglenet.com or fanfiction.net. Is it Harry/Draco? Hermione/Draco? Hagrid/Dumbledore? Two extra letters is hardly a novel, and it helps readers tremendously. So set aside your sputtering indignation that this OTP should be apparent to all, and just. put. the. bloody. letters. on. there.

Thank you.

Review, with much squeeing: A Wizard Song

Yes, I've read A Wizard Song. Actually, I requested this journal the day it came out. I recommend those who haven't yet read it skip this entry, as it will definitely contain spoilers.


H
E
R
E

T
H
E
R
E

B
E

S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S

Wow. A Wizard Song was awesome. I read it in one sitting, spanning from 9:43 PM to 4:45 AM, for a total allowance of 7 hours, 2 minutes. The predominant word in my mind was "wow," and on so many levels.

First, I am wowed by the effort Telanu has put into this: AWS has been "in the process" for a good year and a half. That is an astounding amount of effort on the part of not only the writer, but also her betas. That kind of determination and effort are rare, and totally beyond me, and I stand in awe.

Second, the tone of AWS was thrilling. Much deeper, and quite possibly darker, than the four stories before it, AWS deals with the ramifications of an action taken, rather than the potential of that action. Both Severus and Harry have deliberately decided to cross a line, and now the necessary accompanying actions have been set in place: Harry must lie to his friends, his family, his other teachers, and the Headmaster himself. Those lies have consequences, sometimes near-deadly ones, and Harry must face the fact that his choice has brought about the present state of affairs.

Consequences and choices play a major part in AWS. Harry finally takes the Somniesperus potion, and the results leave the reader wondering exactly how much of Harry's desires and actions are his own. Twice he faces the power to determine whether someone lives or dies, and the differences between the situations are chilling-- Harry is discovering the absolute power of choices, and the thrill of holding the decision between life or death over others. When he threatens Neville, and Malfoy, it's hackle-raising.

There are other moments when Harry seems to be maturing. Not only does he realize that holding power over someone else is tantalizing, he also rightly fears that power. He turns down Severus' offer to let him top, not wanting to risk the chance that he might enjoy it in the same way he enjoyed pushing Neville to the wall and seeing his fear. He also learns a little about human nature; he not only realizes why Severus is a bastard to Neville after Harry saves his life, he knows that he's right, and doesn't doubt his conclusions, or forget them. He recognizes Severus' pattern of behavior (in typical Harry style-- "Severus always acted like a complete git when he was scared") and works to counteract it, even in the face of Severus' denial.

Harry hasn't miraculously become an adult in a sixteen-year-old's body, though. He has plenty of moments where maturity is not exactly shining through his actions. He tries too hard to simplify Neville's betrayal, and seems unable to convince even himself: his "rationalising" his choices sounded to me like he's trying to convince himself, like he's trying hard to be grown up: "Later that night, as he lay in bed staring up at the shadowed canopy and listening to the whispers of the other boys, Harry thought he knew how she felt. But he thought Ron was right, too. Neville had known what he was doing, and he'd paid the price. That was how things were. Everything came with some kind of price, didn't it?" It feels like he's trying to be adult, he's trying to make everything simple, and it isn't. He's putting off dealing with the fact that his choices have caused extreme reactions, whether direct or indirect, intentional or completely unintended-- who could guess that sleeping with Snape would have any effect on Neville?-- and there's a feeling that Harry's wrestling with "choices" is not over, by any means, and his little "that's that" is not nearly as comforting as he wants it to be. Just because the price is worth paying doesn't mean you don't have to deal with the results.

It's certainly not all moralising and rationalising, though; AWS contains some truly brain-melting sex too. It's "real," and yet sexy too; for once, the characters don't jump into bed and start shagging like mad weasels, and issues come up, and teenage uncertainty, and Harry wasn't born with the complete sexual encyclopedia in his head, even if he has been reading that manual all summer. Neither of them just assume that everything is okay with the other, or that one physical encounter means there will be more. The joy of discovery comes across clearly, though, as do the deeper elements of Harry's feelings. It's not just sex, no matter how wonderful the discovery of hormones is. Severus' feelings are both more subtle, since the reader is never told of them directly, and less-- when he's fumbling with the lid of the painkiller with shaking fingers after Harry's near-miss, it's not hard to see that he feels a lot more for Harry than lust. For that matter, the mere fact that he's willing to do something so "stupid" (in his own words) as have an affair with a student argues that there's more than just a passing attraction there. This is a relationship that's shown, not told.

Dumbledore also shows some surprising new facets in AWS. While the four previous fics made it clear that the Headmaster is perceptive, Dumbledore's importance is ratcheted up several orders of magnitude in AWS. Dumbledore covers for Severus and Harry when rumors hit the press; Dumbledore clearly knows what is going on, but says nothing. His words in "A Most Disquieting Tea," come clearly to mind:
"Oh, Severus. I’m sorry. But these blinders you’re wearing are seriously damaging your teacher-student relations with more people than poor Harry alone, and I felt it was time to call your attention to them.” His twinkling eyes stopped twinkling, and narrowed slightly. “Contrary to the evidence, Severus, I am a great believer in professionalism.”
In the face of that, one must wonder why he says nothing, and turns a blind eye to an affair that has had such far-reaching consequences.

In addition, Dumbledore makes one statement in AWS that is peculiar indeed. "Hatred is a bewildering thing, Harry. I freely confess that after many years on this earth, I still do not understand it…nor do I fully understand love." Coming as it does on the heels of a disastrous Quidditch match, wherein Harry was saved by Severus' protective charm on his broom, those words are intriguing in the extreme. If he does not understand love, why is he protecting Severus and Harry? For that matter, why is he protecting Severus from the wizarding world at large, by allowing him to stay at Hogwarts all these years? In two sentences, Telanu has thrown a huge portion of plot into shadow. Now, not only Harry's motives are suspect, but those of the man in charge, the one who pulls the strings.

A Wizard Song is definitely worth the wait, and with the issues and uncertainties it stirs up, the next story promises to be just as spectacular.

Congratulations, Telanu, and many, many thanks.

OOTP

I am in denial.

Ouch.

Okay, it's sunk in a little, and I've checked some LJ people to confirm that I'm not cracked.

It hurts. I actually liked Sirius *better* in OoTP, with his flaws and his occasional arrogance and carelessness. He was *real,* he was a person, and he was coping with not only "freedom" that wasn't anything like it, but his utter failure at being able to protect Harry, and Snape needling him, and being shut up in that awful, grim old house with his raving mother and that house-elf who obviously hated him.

I liked him for his unexpected rough edges, for the fact that he wasn't perfect-- he had prejudices, he had temper, he had sulky, "imperfect" feelings over being able to do nothing, he had rashness and impulse, he had issues with Harry and James being similar. I wanted to leap in and protect him from Molly, even though I knew she might be right. I wanted to *do something* for him, because he was chafing at the constraints on him and Harry needed him and he wouldn't be much good to the Order if he went stark raving. In short, I got to know him, and then he was killed off. Terribly, I might add-- not even a body left to mourn. I want him back.

Snape... what can I say? I wanted to yell at Harry for spying, and I wanted to yell at Snape for refusing to continue the lessons. I'm glad I'm not the only person out there who wondered if Snape wasn't protecting Harry, in a way, as well as himself-- after all, he removed a memory that obviously caused Harry grief, a memory that tarnished his image of his father, his godfather, and even Lupin. Of course he didn't want a student to see him humiliated, but could he possibly, in part, have been keeping such a memory from Harry to spare the kid more pain?

On a related subject... James. Sushi is right; James is worm food. James is dirt. That was unnecessary, uncalled for, cruel, and sadistic. Snape had not committed any offenses against him-- at least no public ones, since Lily asked what he had done. James is a skunk. That was a reaaaaallly interesting insight into his and Lily's relationship, though; that comment that she really didn't know what James did to Severus kind of shredded the illusion of the perfect happy couple. They may have been, but James was a miserable bastard to Severus, and obviously knew that Lily wouldn't approve, and therefore didn't bother to tell her. As opposed to, say, stopping in his persecution of a fellow student, he chose to deliberately omit it from his relationship rather than let her know what a slug he was, whether he was doodling her name in hearts or not. Hmm. Food for thought, that. As for Lily... Oh, I wish I had the book. I cannot now for the life of me recall why, but I remember as I was reading her defense of Severus that I thought she wasn't, under it, much better than James. (Anyone willing to type this scene up for me? Please? Or scan the page? I'll love you forever.)

So. Harry. I was impressed, really, with the fact that he's finally let himself be angry. Dumbledore, despite his protestations of love, has gifted him with a pretty high cost for that "protection," and for all his words, it's Harry who paid for it, unasked. I saw this emerging in GoF, where Harry's anger hits the Dursleys for the first time; I never understood all those fics where Harry is a whimpering little abuse victim, because really, he's not. Not whimpering. Harry started to fight back long ago, from the moment he "forgot" to tell the Dursleys he couldn't do magic over the holidays, all the way down to telling them about his godfather and "forgetting" to tell them Sirius was innocent, to his anger and his outbursts in the fourth book. Harry has a spine, and he's growing more daily.

On the other hand, I was bored by his fumbling little romance, and while I don't hate Cho the way some seem to, she doesn't really interest me, either. I'm glad she's dealing with Cedric's death, rather than just brushing it off like an adolescent crush, but watching Harry and Cho step, trip, and crash through the process of "getting together" is tedious. I wish that plotline would just be dropped-- fifteen-year-olds don't need to be falling in love. I certainly never did at that age, and while granted I am one person and should not speak for a generation, I don't believe that any of my peers did, either. It's just... fumbling, that first beginning of interest, and it's pretty darn boring to the rest of us-- it's like being told in excruciating detail about a friend's date. No one wants to sit through the play-by-play. Part of that is doubtless the slash writer in me, but that doesn't keep it from being true. Teen romance is boring.

Despite my heartache over Sirius, I can see how his death furthers the plot neatly; if you take away the one person Harry has to care about him, he'll get even angrier with Voldemort, and up his resolution to off him, and overall give him more reason to hate the Death Eaters. I mean, it already got him to the point of using an Unforgivable; it's not that far a leap from Crucio! on a DE to Avada Kedavra! on their leader.

I am more Slytherin than Harry, for sure, too, because there were places where the course of action seemed obvious to me while Harry dithered. That whole "murder or be murdered" thing, for one. I would buck up and decide, quick, that it wasn't going to be me who let a megalomaniacal snake-grafted elitist rule the world, even if it did mean I'd have to kill someone. Especially if I'd already used an Unforgivable Curse on someone twice. I kept thinking about AWS, and Harry's desire to learn, whatever was needed. That's me. There were lots of other incidents like that too, where I kept going, "but, obviously..." when Harry was at a loss, or debating moral decisions, or whatever. (Man, I wish I had the book. I need a local to borrow it from! I can't memorise 800 pages of text, even if I did just read it. I'm left with that feeling where I remember my reactions, but don't recall quite what sparked them.)

Umbridge. Harry's detention gave me major sick-up urges. The woman is... horrible. I do not believe blood should be extracted, in any way, during a detention. It was macabre and disturbing. On a more meta-ly note, I think Umbridge's flaw was that she was trying to give two different images: the fluffy-kittens-pink-cardigan-and-hairbows image, which says "I am a nice woman, really I am, and I will help you like the little babies that you are," and the bloodletting-malicious-vengeful-authoritative image, which says "I am strong and in charge, and don't mess with me." This is why she has no respect-- if I can snicker about your hairbow, I am not going to be afraid of your punishments. Angry, yes, but afraid, no. Instead, I will hate you, and try at every turn to defy you, because you are what most people hate most of all-- a hypocrite.

Then, of course, there's the fact that she's a toadying (random note: hey, I just realized the connection with her descriptions!) wimp who wants power, but doesn't know the difference between respect and fear, and doesn't understand that real power (or respect) can't be taken while you're hiding behind a pretty piece of paper.

The twins. Oh, the twins. They were wonderful, funny, and devious-- and they had a bit of a dark streak. I kept thinking of AWS, especially when they decided to leave school. Their leavetaking was not merely humourous, but had an edge to it, and it made Telanu's twins all the more canon to me. Then, of course, there's Neville, and yep, like everyone else, I'm reeling at the news that it could have been "Neville Longbottom" with his personal life written up in the papers every day, Neville Longbottom who had to hide his forehead under his fringe, Neville Longbottom, our newest... celebrity. Dumbledore's insight into the reason Voldemort chose to attack Harry were intriguing, especially the comment about being pureblood.

So yes, I want to read it again, but I don't know if I'll be able to. I know I've much more to say, and to think, so doubtless there will be more posts. Again, anyone willing to email me the scene will be appreciated forever. Anyone willing to give me the book will be apotheosized. :)

Reasons not to post a story on FF.Net

Because no matter how bad it is, people will give it good reviews.

Snape as a Vampire

Is Snape a Vampire?

This discussion topic appeared in salazaar's Livejournal (LINK), which I reached via Telanu's, and when I went to comment, it ended up getting so long I decided to make it a journal entry instead.

While the person arguing that Snape is a vampire has some interesting points, I have to disagree with most of them, including the suggestion that the mere fact Rowling mentions vampires is proof that one will appear in the storyline:
JKR makes a special point of introducing us to vampires in her world when she shows us the unusual blood-flavored lollipops in the sweet shop. At the very least, given her predilection for logical storytelling, this shows that a vampire will at some time be important in the story.

I have to disagree. Not only does JKR drop in many details that merely add dimension to the Wizarding world, she also omits details that might hint at future plotlines: the old man in the Muggle nightgown in GoF, for instance, tells us that wizards don't wear clothes under their robes (or at least older/pureblood/etc. ones don't), but this random detail doesn't foretell anything that occurs later in the story, or in OoTP (despite the fervent wishes of slash writers). Nor does the mention of the various creatures in Remus Lupin's Defence lessons ever serve any purpose beyond telling readers that there are many kinds of magic creatures in Rowling's world. Details of this sort are called "world building," and while they flesh out the universe created by the author, they're not necessarily important to the plot. Conversely, nothing is mentioned of werewolves at all, and yet one plays a major role in PoA and beyond!

Perhaps there is a reason why Snape is not so proficient with his wand, as a Non-Wizard Part-Human. Perhaps.
I am surprised all the time at how people interpret Snape's reference to "foolish wand-waving." I always took it to be the "foolish" part he was mocking, not the use of wands. I never interpreted this statement as a potential "hint" that he's not so good with a wand, or that he dislikes wand-focused wizardry; merely that he hates the flourishy dramatics that people like Lockhart (or dumb kids trying to impress each other) use.

"In book 1, Rumour was that Snape met a Vampire in Romania, who scared him out of his wits. Can this be symbolic to Snape threatening Quirrel? What if this tale was true and he was threatened by a vampire?"
I think they meant to say, "that Quirrell met a Vampire in Romania." I also think that this supposed bit of evidence is anything but. I mean, the garlic doesn't seem to bother Snape, or keep him from getting in Q's face! That's not "symbolism" at all, that's just the person(s) at this website (yes, I've been there. There's a lot of hokey, contrived stuff as well as intriguing evidence) imposing their theory on any sort of vague mention of anything vampiric. Snape's never been to Romania as far as we know, and is not associated with it in any way. The "symbolism" lacks any logical connection.

What's more, when Harry first meets Quirrel, he is buying a book on vampires. And, later, his classroom reeks of garlic, because he is scared of that "vampire from Romania" returning.
Again, this isn't really any kind of evidence against Snape. If you read the entire book, it seems implied that, while Quirrell may or may not have met a vampire, what changed him into a stammering wreck was his encounter with Voldemort:
'I met him when I travelled around the world. ... Since then I have served him faithfully, although I have let him down many times.' Quirrell shivered suddenly. 'He does not forgive mistakes easily. ...He punished me...'(HP-PS, 211).

A page before this, we get the following conversation, which is even more telling:
'But I heard you a few days ago, sobbing-- I thought Snape was threatening you...'
For the first time, a spasm of fear flitted across Quirrell's face.
'Sometimes,' he said, ' I find it hard to follow my master's instructions-- he is a great wizard and I am weak--' "

Note that it is only when he is reminded of Voldemort and his presumed punishment that he shows fear. His startled, stammering little mouse persona is an act-- he mocks it, in fact, when he says to Harry that "Next to [Snape], who would suspect p-p-poor st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell?" Harry notes that he is not twitching at all, and his speech is clear. Additionally, the turban he wears, supposedly to hold garlic to repel vampires, is in reality a means of covering up Voldemort's presence. Quirrell's fear of vampires really seems more like a cover-- a reason for his behavior, possibly suggested by Voldemort.

This is not to say that I think Snape's absolutely not a vampire. I don't, actually, but I'm not going to go into utter denial if JKR later says that he is. I'm open to the possibility, but I don't generally apply it to my vision/version of Snape. (Then again, I discounted all those "private lessons with Snape" plots in fanfic, and what does JKR do but go and give him private Defence lessons with Snape?)

There are very interesting bits that don't seem to fit with the whole "spy" idea that Harry has, not least of which is that Quirrell's "parasite" was there the whole time Snape was trying to persuade him away from Voldemort. Since Voldie would have heard all of this, why would he ever believe that Snape was still on his side? There are ways around this, of course: he could beg forgiveness, and say that he was merely, in true Slytherin fashion, trying to choose the winning side; he could get in thick with Malfoy and have Lucius vouch for him; he could be using Legilimency to pick up Malfoy's thoughts and such while avoiding the actual presence of the Dark Lord. Still, the fact that Voldemort knows Snape tried to persuade one of his followers to abandon him can't be good for his chances at infiltrating the circle of Voldemort's trusted servants.

So, yeah. I'm not convinced, but there are some bits that just don't seem to line up quite properly so far. I would call it a possibility, but not a pressing or an imminent one.


[[EDIT: JKR has denied that Snape is a vampire; however, this essay was--obviouslyl--written before that interview. I leave it up so that I might revel in the Slytherin joy of being right.]] :D

Is Snape Pureblood?

Or, Speculations on the Rumor that Snape is Fabulously Wealthy:

First, people tend to assume that any Slytherin is automatically pureblooded; I have actually seen people state this, publicly, as a reason Snape is pureblood, and not be corrected. However, nowhere does anything in canon state that Slytherin only accepts those of pure bloodline; in fact, the opposite is proved true by Tom Riddle's mere presence. Also, the Hat was perfectly willing to consider sorting Harry into Slytherin, despite his mixed (unless one takes the bare minimum approach to defining pureblood) bloodline. Snape could be anything.

Second, the fact that he's not on that tapestry in OoTP, considering we're told that "all" the pureblood families are interrelated, suggests that he's NOT pureblood, at least on his father's side; his mother might be, since we don't know her maiden name, but canonically there is NO evidence to suggest that Snape is either pureblood or wealthy.

Also, consider these facts: I'm pretty sure Snape has been teaching for a long time, well before Voldemort's suspected rise, so that is presumably not the only reason he was hired (I don't have OoTP here to check my timeline of events here, so feel free to offer anything you have to contradict me). Then there is the fact that, to all appearances, this is not a job Snape enjoys. How long would it take him to figure that out? A year? A term? A week? Why didn't he quit ages ago? Possibly because he doesn't have family fortune of Malfoydian proportions to support him in leisure and idleness.

Why do people assume that Slytherin=Pureblood, even when the most famous and influential Slytherin of the whole series has a Muggle in his parentage?
:)

More on OotP

Okay, I've managed to collect my scattered thoughts. :)

Dumbledore: well, I think the most confusing part of the book was Dumbledore's "explanations," but other people have said more, and far more eloquently, on this subject than I ever could. I shall leave it for now.

Thestrals. Rock. That's all there is to it.

The alliance of McGonagall and Peeves.... wow. I laughed so hard at this. I loved it. The House rivalries may be coming to a head, but when the teacher who never lets her hair down and the poltergeist who lives to torment staff and students alike are working together, that's got to say something about the need for alliance against the Ministry. And yes, the entire "Have a biscuit" conversation had me giggling as well. I sincerely hope for more McGonagall fic in future, especially given the glimpse we have of her rivalry with Snape-- all that about being accustomed to having the House Cup, and not wanting to give it up to the Head of Slytherin. Hee. I want to see some writers incorporate that to a greater extent; I can see so many ways it can be done, from out and out cutting disdain to a sharp but not necessarily bitter competition.

On the slash front:

Wow, as people have noted, slash hints are everywhere! I was delighted to see my own personal preference was validated: when I got to that Occlumency private tutoring, I just sort of blinked, and went "Wow! So all those cliched, trite fics with the overused plot device were right?" Not to mention the potential for a lovely Harry/Remus bonding-- I mean, not only is Lupin now the only person left who both knew Harry's parents and with whom Harry is on speaking terms, we don't even get to see Remus' reaction to Sirius' death disappearance. Ouch. There's just so much possibility there, especially since the whole "grieving with Cho over Cedric" thing blew up. Who better to mourn with than Sirius' one surviving friend? Who else could possibly understand?

Of course, back on the Severus/Harry front, they've now got a reason to tentatively trust each other in future; whether or not he'll ever "forgive" Snape, I don't think Harry's Gryffindor honor would condone spilling Snape's memories to other people. I may be wrong, but I hope I'm not. They've got the dirt on each other, now; they've each seen that the other is human, and has suffered. They could forge a grudge to rival the one between Sirius and Severus, if they abuse the power they hold or refuse to see the bond between them (life debts, anyone?), or they could learn to get over their differences, prove Albus Dumbledore wrong, and make a truly formidable team for the Light.

Oh, and a random question has popped into my head as of about three hours ago: Since Sirius is (presumably) dead, and Harry is his godson, will Harry inherit 12 Grimmauld Place? This would place him in a position to do the Order a favor, since it's their headquarters; this would in turn give him more leverage with them, even if only subtly. He's doing something for them, after all, and he doesn't strictly have to-- he could easily claim it makes him too upset to stay where Sirius lived, and in a house Sirius hated. I don't think he'd directly say "No, it's my house and I'm in control of who lives here!", but there are more subtle ways he could toss them out if he wanted. This puts him in the technical position of doing them a favor, even if it's something he really would never consider not doing. A little leverage never hurt anyone! On the other hand, Sirius had relatives--including Narcissa and Bellatrix, both of whom would probably love to have the Order's headquarters in their hands (depending, of course, upon whether they knew it was HQ)...

Oh-- another random question: I wonder if anyone will die in Book 6? Hermione came close in OoTP, and I'm wondering if Harry will actually survive the series with his trio intact. They are, with Sirius gone, the most obvious targets for "people Harry will do anything for". Of course, for all I know, Harry himself will die in Book 7 and leave them to lead long, healthy lives after they finish mourning him. :)

What a thought-provoking book, eh?