Here's one thing I absolutely can't stand!

It happened again this morning on the train. The guy, two seats ahead of me, switched on his iPod. And I could hear every screaming word of all the songs he was listening to.

Given that anyone (normal) who travels on the train to work at the unearthly hour of 6.30 am in winter, will be far too miserable to make conversation, the iPod sounds practically reverberates around the compartment.

And, it's all I can do to control myself from walking upto the offender and telling him: "Look mate, you may be deaf, we're not, so turn it down, will ya?"

Missing portrait

(spoilers ahead for all you people from Mars who still haven't read the book)

I now have another query - on 'HP & DH" of course.

Everytime you read the book, new things strike you. At least, they do strike me.

Ok, the question is, why was there no portrait of Snape in the Headmaster's study when Harry, Ron and Hermione go in there at the end?

Harry, of course, goes in to check with Dumby on what to do with the Hallows. But at the end of book 6, there was a new portrait of Dumby in the room as soon as he died. So why was there not one of Snape, as he had been the Headmaster and had died by then? (Hopefully, Harry would have been humane enough to bury Snape next to Lily).

Also, very conveniently for Harry, he starts reading Voldy's moods again throughout this book. How did this change, from Book 6, when Voldy was employing Occlumency against Harry so he could not read his thoughts? I guess Voldy had other things on his mind in this book...

I am very nearly obssessed, need to get off Potteritis soon... anyway, answers anyone?

And hopefully, no one will still want me to put up spoilers now... but maybe I should, just in case...

HP & Deathly Hallows - thoughts from second reading

I still don't get why Dumby had to be downsized in stature - he was such a towering impressive figure in all the other books. Maybe just so Harry would find everything harder and still triumph in the end? And also to fit in the Deathly Hallows etc?

And if Marvolo (Voldy grandpa) was a Peverell and Harry is also the last of another Peverall line, does this mean Harry and Voldy are distantly related? Is that why Tom Riddle felt there was a strange likeness between himself and Harry ? (Book 2)

And I noticed just now that Harry does not kill even one Horcrux in this book, although he did start the process in Book 2. Funnily enough, even Crabbe (or is it Goyle) gets to kill one (unknowingly of course) using Fiendfyre.

I was thrilled to see I had guessed right about three things,after finishing Book 6:

1. That RAB would be Regulus Black and that he may not have destroyed the Horcrux.
2. That Dumbledore's photo in the principal's study would play its part in helping Harry.
3. And that Snape wasn't as bad as he seemed to be - and he's probably one of the best characters Rowling's created. So effective and after being such a heel to Harry in all the books, he still earns our sympathy when we get to hear his true story. Truly, I ended up feeling he may have been a better man than James Potter. Although Rowling did her best to confuse us by showing Snape making the Unbreakable Vow, killing Dumby etc, so that we wouldn't figure out where his loyalties lay.

The last chapter was a lost cause. I could and did work out that Victoire was Bill and Fleur's daughter, but how on earth was 19-year-old Teddy Tonks on the Hogwarts train? Don't students finish with Hogwarts by the time they are 17? And too many kids and too many names in this chapter. I liked the bit about Albus Severus, though.

Also not sure how Kreacher, whom we last saw in 12 Grimmauld Place, turns up to join all the other house elves in the Battle of Hogwarts.

Pettigrew's death was a loser and Dobby's death was terribly sad. Bellatrix's end was satisfying, although I would have loved it if Neville or Lupin (before he died) had been the ones to kill her.

But what a wonderful way in which Rowling has fitted all the charaters together. What a read. What a read!