Book 6- Some thoughts 1

A new school year. Prefect badges. Harry is Quidditch captain. Having done well in their OWL, the trio is all set to take subjects of their choice. A new Potions teacher who accepts 'Exceeds Expectations' in Potions leads Harry and Ron to return to Potions. Books? Well, they just pick up old books from the cupboards.

A master stroke by Rowling, which puts an unusual book into Harry's hands. Now Harry is not only 'the boy who lived', he is also a potions whiz! Making him the top candidate for Professor Slughorn's page 3 ...err... gallery of collectible stars.

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All seems well, though it apparently is not. What about the strange actions of Draco Malfoy? Has he really been inducted among the Death Eaters? The recruits certainly seem to be getting younger- a comment on terrorism and the way very young children get pushed into it. Pawns in a war not of their choice. Certainly it is cause for worry for Draco's mother, who ropes in Snape to protect and assist him.

What makes Snape take on this responsibility? Is he a double agent? Pretending to be loyal to Dumbledore and acting for Voldemort? There is also the fact of his having overheard the prophecy, that Harry comes to know of purely by chance. Doesn't that make him blacker than he is, since it would undoubtedly be he who went to Voldemort with that information?

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Romance. How can we have a story involving 16-17 year olds without it? It blossoms in every heart. Dark theme or not. There is love, longing, infatuation, kissing, jealousy, hatred- the full range. There is also love potion and the brewing of it-
Amortentia: It smells differently to different persons, based upon their individual likes. Quoting from the Harry Potter wikipedia:


"It has a different aroma for everyone who smells it, reminding each person of the things that they find most attractive, even if the person themselves don't acknowledge or are unaware of their fondness for the object of their affection e.g. Hermione Granger smells fresh cut grass, new parchment and spearmint toothpaste. Harry Potter smelled treacle tart, a broomstick, and 'something flowery that he thought he might have smelled at the Burrow' (which he later realized as the smell of Ginny Weasley's hair). Ron Weasley smelled his mother's cooking, bacon and the perfume he gave Hermione in their 5th year for Christmas."

A question to my readers- what would it smell of to you?

For me- New books, jasmine and the first rains on parched earth.