Things you would have changed |
 Jul 8 2009, 02:16 PM
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Getting Fitted for New Dress Robes Posts: 45 Joined: 9:14am December 16, 2008 Location: Ontario, Canada  |
I know we all love JK Rowling's world of Harry Potter but what are some of the things you would have done differently if you were the author of the Harry Potter series?
If it was up to me, I think Neville and Bellatrix should have dueled in OOTP. I also beleive that Neville should have been the one to kill Bellatrix. I just think it would have fitted perfectly because Bellatrix tortured his parents to the point of going crazy and Neville always hated her for that. What would you guys have done differently? Justin -------------------- Harry: "Did you know, then?"
Dumbledore: "Did I know that I had just met the most dangerous dark wizard of all time? No." |
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Jul 8 2009, 03:35 PM
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Doctor Filibuster's Junior Assistant Posts: 1,977 Joined: 5:11pm May 4, 2007 Location: Texas |
Great topic, Justin.
The single biggest thing I would have changed would have been to have Snape really have a change of heart. His loss of Lily would have caused him to see the error of his ways and he would have rejected the dark side. He would have felt empathy with his former victims and he would have acknowledged the wickedness of his former choices. -------------------- "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
-Albus Dumbledore |
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Jul 8 2009, 06:25 PM
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Selling Illegal Items at Borgin and Burkes Posts: 2,806 Joined: 7:59am June 6, 2006 |
QUOTE(Dark Yoda @ Jul 8 2009, 08:16 PM)  What would you guys have done differently? Surprisingly enough, nothing! There isn't a single thing which I would change. Which is really saying something as I'm normally mentally rewriting every book I read or show/movie I see. Even with all the tears I've shed for characters who've died, I wouldn't write them back in if I could, I think the series is genuinely as perfect as it could be, as is. QUOTE(Dark Yoda @ Jul 8 2009, 08:16 PM) If it was up to me, I think Neville and Bellatrix should have dueled in OOTP. I just think it would have fitted perfectly because Bellatrix tortured his parents to the point of going crazy and Neville always hated her for that. I can certainly see where you're coming from on this point but I think it would have been a bit too neat and precise. To have the Chosen One kill the one who took his parents from him, and have the not-quite-chosen one kill the one who took his parents from him aswell, would for me have been a bit too exact. I also think that having Neville take out a Horcrux was actually a more vital role, as it enabled Voldemorts downfall where as the Bellatrix situation would have served more in vengeance. I think the lack of spite and hostile vengeance in those two killings was important to the series. --------------------  |
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Jul 10 2009, 01:21 AM
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Stocking Snitches at Quality Quidditch Supplies Posts: 682 Joined: 6:54pm August 3, 2008 Location: New York, NY  |
If I could change anything, I would let Snape live. I know it's really better for the story if Snape dies -- not just for the sake of the plot, but also for the sake of his redemption, and for the sake of keeping him enigmatic -- but I just can't stand it. I wish I could adequately describe the hollow dread inside my chest when I read/think about his death scene, and the futile desperation that comes from knowing that, no matter how much I wish it, I cannot jump into the pages and save him myself...or, at the very least, tell him how much I adore him before he dies.
Poor Severus...  QUOTE(harrydavid @ Jul 8 2009, 04:35 PM) The single biggest thing I would have changed would have been to have Snape really have a change of heart. His loss of Lily would have caused him to see the error of his ways and he would have rejected the dark side. He would have felt empathy with his former victims and he would have acknowledged the wickedness of his former choices. Personally, I prefer that he remain deeply flawed, and somewhat unredeemed, until the end. I think it makes the good he did do that much more poignant, and it also makes him a much more interesting and realistic character, IMO. After all, as Leonard Cohen says about love, "...it's not a cry you can hear at night/It's not somebody who's seen the light/It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah..." This post has been edited by Mrs_Linnea_Snape: Jul 10 2009, 02:28 AM |
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Jul 10 2009, 12:20 PM
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Shopping the sales rack at Madam Malkins Posts: 2,513 Joined: 2:33pm September 16, 2005 Location: I'm somewhere inside all of you |
QUOTE(Mrs_Linnea_Snape @ Jul 10 2009, 01:21 AM) If I could change anything, I would let Snape live. I somewhat agree but I actually would have liked for Snape and Harry to reconcile. I know Voldemort was supposed to be Harry's nemesis but Harry just held an absoute hatred for Snape and the feeling was mutual. I thought it would have been nice for the two of them to acknowledge each others' sacrifices before Snape died.-------------------- "Harry now saw red hair flying like flames in front of him: Ginny was locked in combat ..."
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Jul 10 2009, 05:50 PM
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One Half of the DDD  Posts: 8,474 Joined: 5:31pm August 30, 2006 Location: Siriusly Dreaming Somewhere |
I honestly wouldn't change a single thing, simply because these are the stories I fell in love with, any changes would mean they just weren't the same books and then I might not love them as much. I wouldn't even change Sirius' death because Harry needed his support when he went into the forest and that's something he wouldn't have had if Sirius had been alive.
****************************** Now dons modly hat to say that, as this is more of a speculative discussion than a discussion of the events in the books we're going to move over to Predicting the Unpredicatable to continue. Please stick out your wand arm for the Knight Bus  Dreamteam, LL Mod Manager --------------------  November's book is The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger "THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!" |
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Jul 10 2009, 06:03 PM
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Flesh-Eating-Slug Catcher Posts: 145 Joined: 11:46pm June 12, 2009 |
Good question! The one thing I can think of off-hand also has to do with Snape's death. I would have had someone...anyone...go back for his body. Just leaving him in the Shrieking Shack after such an undignified death was, to me, adding insult to injury.
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Jul 10 2009, 06:28 PM
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Hiding in the Iron Maiden at Borgin and Burkes Posts: 311 Joined: 9:44am November 20, 2007 Location: NC |
I think there are two major things that irritated me most about the series or, rather, the end of the series (HBP and DH). The most major one is how she dealt with Percy. I have to say the way he re-joined the family completely pissed me off. To me, Percy is an important character because he represents the overall good people who believe in the Ministry as having the best of intentions and, more importantly, the one Weasley child who doesn't follow Dumbledore or his parents on principle. He was dealt with rather well in HBP, because you can see that he knows he was wrong on the Voldemort deal but he doesn't quite want to say he's sorry (because most of the stuff he said he probably felt wasn't that wrong). Unfortunately, DH and the Weasleys require that Percy take all the blame for their estrangement despite an impoverished and disrespectful family and say that the only reason he turned on the family is that he was, as they believed, a prat. As if all his feelings and motivations were completely unjustified and everything the other Weasleys did, selfish or not, was vindicated. Not to mention, the dialogue in that scene was just poorly written.
The only other issue that irritates me beyond reason is how HBP somewhat marked a turning point. Everyone paired up in this book. And not even in logical, interesting, well-written, romantic ways. Only in cliched, necessary, boring ways. Hermione and Ron, imo, were written very well up to this book. Unfortunately, when this one comes out, all hell breaks loose. Hermione turns into a b! she's never been before (and not just over this point either, she also acts this way regarding the HBP; something I don't think has really been a part of her character until this book), Ron shows himself to be more of an ass than we already thought, and their "love" for one another is portrayed in a horribly written way where they end up crying in each other's arms at DD's funeral. But, you see, this isn't even the worst part. Harry and Ginny, if could be possible, were worse. They've had no build-up whatsoever (and no chemistry, in my personal opinion) prior to 1/4th way through this book. Yes, they were compared to one another in OotP (albeit in a rather forced way), but this is no more than has been done between Luna and Harry or Hermione and Harry. Harry just suddenly starts becoming possessive of her for no particular reason than, well, the book wants him to and then they jump each other near the end of the book. Um...yeah? And Tonks and Lupin's relationship not only ruins Tonks as a character of her own, it just comes off as a plot device to show Lupin's flaws and have him be dead by the end of DH. Bill and Fleur have worn on me, as they were at least built up since book 5, but their being coupled together felt and still feels completely random. So, all in all, I felt that 3 of these couples had no chemistry whatsoever. The 4th had that but was hopelessly ruined by the cliched and badly written plot of romance in this book. The only other minor points I would note is pumping up the war in HBP and DH moreso. Where were all these dementors, giants, werewolves, etc. that Voldemort supposedly had on his side? Rowling did a good job of showing how wizarding prejudice had affected the war, but it didn't show how it would come back to bite them the way it would have if they had to deal with goblins, giants and the others they persecuted doing the same to them. |
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Jul 10 2009, 07:42 PM
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Flesh-Eating-Slug Catcher Posts: 177 Joined: 11:08pm August 25, 2008 Location: Australia |
Interesting topic. I don't know that I'd change anything! If I had to pick something it would be Fred dying, but the sadness surrounding him, Lupin and Tonks was partly why the book was so emotive and compelling.
Actually maybe the only other thing was the naff '19 years later' chapter. In a way it was probably necessary, but I would have been really happy to leave it at the end of DH with no glimpse into the future. QUOTE(The Crimson Artist @ Jul 11 2009, 09:28 AM) [color="#8b0000"]I think there are two major things that irritated me most about the series or, rather, the end of the series (HBP and DH). The most major one is how she dealt with Percy. I have to say the way he re-joined the family completely pissed me off. To me, Percy is an important character because he represents the overall good people who believe in the Ministry as having the best of intentions and, more importantly, the one Weasley child who doesn't follow Dumbledore or his parents on principle. He was dealt with rather well in HBP, because you can see that he knows he was wrong on the Voldemort deal but he doesn't quite want to say he's sorry (because most of the stuff he said he probably felt wasn't that wrong). Unfortunately, DH and the Weasleys require that Percy take all the blame for their estrangement despite an impoverished and disrespectful family and say that the only reason he turned on the family is that he was, as they believed, a prat. As if all his feelings and motivations were completely unjustified and everything the other Weasleys did, selfish or not, was vindicated. Not to mention, the dialogue in that scene was just poorly written. I have to say I really disagree with this. Percy wasn't cast out of the Weasley family for his words or actions, in fact he wasn't cast out at all - Molly made him a jumper for Christmas that he returned unopened, and he was the one who decided not to talk to his family anymore. And when he returned with the Minister, he was greeted with happiness, until it became evident he was only there because of the minister. I actually liked his 'return' in DH. The fact there was no great fanfare, just him being called a git and everything is back to normal. Despite the fact that Percy had turned his back on his family for years, he was welcomed back without recrimination. He was being a prat, not just because he took the ministry's side, but because he rejected their attempts at reconcilliation. He owned that, which was a good thing. --------------------  |
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Jul 10 2009, 08:12 PM
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Getting Fitted for New Dress Robes Posts: 45 Joined: 9:14am December 16, 2008 Location: Ontario, Canada |
QUOTE(The Crimson Artist @ Jul 10 2009, 07:28 PM) The only other minor points I would note is pumping up the war in HBP and DH moreso. Where were all these dementors, giants, werewolves, etc. that Voldemort supposedly had on his side? Rowling did a good job of showing how wizarding prejudice had affected the war, but it didn't show how it would come back to bite them the way it would have if they had to deal with goblins, giants and the others they persecuted doing the same to them. I feel the same way. Perhaps the battle of Hogwarts in DH will feature Dementors, giants, goblins etc. It would be pretty epic! Justin This post has been edited by Dark Yoda: Jul 10 2009, 09:23 PM -------------------- Harry: "Did you know, then?"
Dumbledore: "Did I know that I had just met the most dangerous dark wizard of all time? No." |
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