(no subject)

Still sick. By the end of today, it'll have been a week. This blows. I have no idea what's going on at work. It's a good thing I'm on the special projects, which tend to be long-term things. I'm definitely going to put in some extra hours when I get back to earn back some of my vacation time. I'm down to six and a half days, I think. I hadn't used up any until now. I'd had days off but I'd made up for it by working on weekends. Dammit.

And I'm paying for my apartment now but I'm still in Davis and I haven't tidied up so the realtor can't come by and have a look yet. Bah. I always get sick at exactly the wrong time. ...I guess every time would be the wrong time to get sick for me. At least there's not a ton going on at work. That I know of. There could've been new things coming in.

I thought we'd have the assignments for the hp_art_project by now. I'm not up to drawing today. It'll be weird if I actually get Snape's Worst Memory. I won't draw him hanging upside down. That would make me sad.

I'M BOOOOOORED!

Bored. Bored. Bored. Have read the f-list. And, contrary to what the name implies, my headboard is not a good place to put my head. I haven't eaten yet. Maybe I'll eat something. I'm at the point where I'm feeling well enough to want to go out and do things but not actually well enough to go out and do things. Baaaah!

on a more serious note

My mum hasn't been able to find a home for Bun-Bun. She's e-mailed Best Friends Animal Sanctuary but the website said they get 500 requests a week to take in animals. So that's not looking good. My dad doesn't like animals; he tolerates cats but he doesn't like Bun-Bun. My mum was talking about having Bun-Bun put to sleep. From what we've heard about the no-kill shelters, how they're overwhelmed and keep the animals in tiny cages, she says that's kinder. I'm worried. I had a nightmare about it. I can't take Bun-Bun because there's no room in the apartment and Snape would be threatening him all the time. If my job hadn't moved and I could stay in Davis, I'd have taken him already but I just got the apartment and I can't continue to have these 60-hour work weeks.

The problem is that we haven't been able to litter-box-train Bun-Bun. He even pooed in his food bowl. We don't know what the problem is. He also bites. So if we took him to the pound, they'd call him unadoptable and kill him anyway.

My parents had some guests from England on Monday. They said things are different in England; they'd have no problem finding a shelter to take Bun-Bun there. People just have a different attitude about animals here.

So does anyone know of a shelter, preferably in the western half of the U.S., that would take a rabbit?

:O

Number 7?! Woah. Fate smiles on GMonkey.

Looks like some of the people ahead of me haven't put up their lists yet. But none of the people who have have Snape's Worst Memory as their first choice. There's a reasonable chance that I'll get it.

I'll just run around panicking now.

:O

I tried to post this once but it's not showing up.

Number 7?! Woah. Fortune smiles on GMonkey.

It looks like some of the people ahead of me haven't posted their preferred chapters. But of those who have, none listed Snape's Worst Memory as their first choice. There's a reasonable chance I'll get it.

I'll just run around panicking now.

(no subject)

OK, I'll see if the update works this time.

I'm going to get the minimal provisions together and go to my apartment tonight and maybe go to work tomorrow. I'll bring clothes, toothbrush, etc., the laptop and the cat. That should be enough. I'll leave my TV here for now. I'll have to get some files off my desktop so I can get that new layout for the site done. Finally.

Also, though it doesn't seem as exciting on the third attempt at posting about it, I'm number 7! That's amazing. There's a pretty good chance I'll actually get Snape's Worst Memory. I think now would be a good time to panic. I didn't have anything else planned for the afternoon. No, I've got a reasonably good picture of it in my head. I could have a nice view of the castle in the background. It'll be good. Unless I screw it up. Waaagh!

#$@%

Why can't I see my updates?!

ETA I can see them on the calendar page but not my main page. Oh well.

I do not like "The North Tower"

That column on MuggleNet, The North Tower? I don't like it. The theories are half-baked and easily disproved. And they contain spelling errors.

Snape wasn't trying to get the stone for himself. That doesn't make sense. It's not consistent with his character. What would he do after he stole it? Where would he go? He's devoted his life to working for Dumbledore and the Order. He couldn't exactly stick around after taking the stone. And even if he'd been trying to get the stone for himself instead of trying to protect it, that wouldn't make much difference to Voldemort. Either way, Snape would've been trying to prevent him from getting it, wouldn't he? Somehow, I don't think Voldemort would go "oh well, he's a Slytherin just like me so I'm not going to hold it against him that he tried to steal the stone for himself, knowing full well that I wanted it." And of course Snape didn't know Voldemort was actually there in Quirrell's head! Nor did Dumbledore! They wouldn't have let Quirrell go on teaching if they'd known that! Snape could have known Quirrell wanted to steal the stone and give it to Voldemort without knowing Voldemort was actually there, controlling him! Geeze.

Snape saved Harry because he knew about the prophecy and he didn't want Harry to die before he'd had a chance to kill Voldemort. OK? That's it. That's the only reason. None of this "Dumbledore would've suspected me if I'd failed to save him." How would Dumbledore have known that Snape figured out what was happening to Harry's broom? And if Voldemort had managed to kill Harry then why would it have mattered that Dumbledore didn't trust Snape any more? Coming from the point of view of Voldemort thinking Snape's on his (V.'s) side, Snape wouldn't have needed to worry about what Dumbledore thought once Harry was dead because then Snape could've openly come over to support the Death Eaters, right? Dumbledore without Harry would've been less of a threat; sure, it still would've been handy to have Snape around Hogwarts spying but that's not worth losing the chance to kill Harry. Even if Snape tried to claim that his reason for saving Harry was so he could remain at Hogwarts as Voldemort's spy, Voldemort would have to punish him for incompetence, for thinking that was more important that getting rid of Harry.

If I hear the phrase "X theory is just that - a theory," one more time, someone's gonna get hurt.

And that's just part 1.

On to part 2. The first half just restates what happened in the books, so there's nothing to object to there. Then we get into the speculation. That Snape left the Pensieve there deliberately, so Harry would look at his memories and Snape would have an excuse to stop teaching him. I don't think so. Snape understood the importance of Harry learning Occlumency. By the time he threw Harry out of his office, it'd become clear that Harry wasn't trying and wouldn't learn anyway. Snape was using the Pensieve right from the beginning. I admit that it's a little odd that Snape would leave Harry unattended in his office but it would've been odd under any circumstances and the author needed Harry (and us readers) to see that memory. Anyway, why would Snape use that particular memory if he intended for Harry to see it? Surely there were other times when James and Sirius were stupid jerks that didn't involve Snape being humiliated. You'd think he'd pick one where Harry wouldn't get to see his underwear, for example. So I don't buy it. Snape was actually doing a better job encouraging Harry in the Occlumency lessons than we've seen him do in Potions class. He wanted Harry to learn. If he'd wanted to get out of teaching him, Snape could've been even nastier, instead of being almost civil compared to how he usually is, and made Harry insist on quitting. Instead of putting his memories in the Pensieve every week, waiting for months, wasn't it? until the occasion arose where he'd have to leave in a hurry and Harry would get a chance to see them.

Also: arrgh! I hate it when people say "highly doubt." It's not ungrammatical but it's overused. I think it makes people look like they're trying too hard to sound scholarly.

The North Tower is correct in pointing out the effect seeing Snape's memory had on Harry but Harry's seeing it was contrived not by Snape but by J. K. Rowling. She needed Harry to see it. Snape didn't, really. Snape believes that Harry's spoiled and full of himself just like James; why would Snape expect Harry to get anything more than a good laugh out of seeing that memory? And having seen it, has Harry changed his mind about Snape? All signs at the end of OotP point to 'no.'

I agree that Snape was more out of control in PoA than in OotP but not by much. He threw Harry on the ground and flung a glass jar at him. That's the most physically violent we've ever seen Snape, isn't it? If it were all an act, would he really have gone that far? I'm sure Harry could've gotten Snape in trouble for that if he'd told Dumbledore and telling Dumbledore wouldn't have been much of a risk for Harry - he'd already been forgiven once for looking in the Pensieve when it was none of his business. My intgerpretation of the lack of shouting in OotP was that Snape was even more furious than in PoA. In PoA, there was also the frustration of Black having escaped from under his nose. That's why Snape was throwing a tantrum then but not in OotP. Earlier, when he'd nearly gotten into a fight with Sirius in the kitchen, Sirius had gotten louder as he got more angry whereas Snape got quieter. The lack of shouting didn't mean he was perfectly calm.

In conclusion: I don't like The North Tower. I wouldn't read it except they keep writing about Snape and I keep mistakenly expecting to read something interesting.

ETA: The Department of Mysteries, on the other hand, kicks ass. Snape/Firenze! I can't help noticing that one's written by a guy. They ought to give me my own column. So it doesn't look like the females can't write a good Harry Potter column.