altricial @ April 5 2003, 12:10:59 UTC

Because, much like with Ron, Hufflepuffs are last resorts?

anamirza @ April 5 2003, 12:35:46 UTC

True. But it does rather spoil one potential outcome of advertising when he'll be out flying by himself, doesn't it? *sigh* Those boys...

conversant @ April 5 2003, 13:31:11 UTC

Well, yes, but given the silent treatment he's been receiving, a spot of jealousy might be a good thing. Perhaps he's sending the message that he won't sit and pine forever. All that spring talk is as significant as the actual flying, because as we all know that in spring a boy's thoughts turn not only to flying, but to other things birds and bees do. And if a particularly favored boy is unwilling to take a hint, then, well... he has only himself to blame if just-harry finds someone else with whom to fly.

Or perhaps this is j_h's way of building a screen for whatever is going on off-line and after-hours with potterstinks. Potterstinks is running after grapefruit in his LJ and j_h is playing harmless games and doing innocuous guy-stuff with anybody who'll pal around with him. Who would ever suspect that when the lights are out and the halls are empty there might be anything going on between a certain brave Gryffindor and a notorious Slytherin prefect?

anamirza @ April 5 2003, 18:05:55 UTC

Well, I think this would be a great idea IF j_h and ps were getting along well - but I don't think they are. In my view, you can boil down the journal entries since the party to:

ps: so what the hell was up with you? (night of party entry)
jh: sorry
ps: not sorry enough; i'm really angry (ignoring j_h)
jh: i'm really, really sorry, please don't ignore me (stalking ps' journal)
ps: too little, too late or maybe: leave me alone, j_h (the girlfriend posts)
cc: j_h thinks you're a lonely, bitter, awful person, don't you, j_h?
jh: go away, colin. Let it go. meaning: no, I don't agree with you.
ps: ok, got the point j_h. go to hell. (OK, admittedly, 'wouldn't want to miss the point' could mean, 'ok, I understand you'. It seems very bitter to me, though. Though as you say, that could be just a front.)
jh: look, I said that stuff about you a long time ago, and I don't think that anymore.

It looks to me like an apology is still underway. Though I can't tell if I'm successfully reading between the lines or if I've moved firmly into the realm of macmillan theories. Or am maybe just wrong.

bookshop @ April 5 2003, 18:36:23 UTC

brilliant summary. <33333333333

and
jh: look, I said that stuff about you a long time ago, and I don't think that anymore.

dude, i had no idea what the line quoted in the thread was about til you said that. i'm sure i'm not the only one. thank you!!

*draws hearts around ana and nraged*

sistermagpie @ April 5 2003, 18:45:18 UTC

Today I was reading over CC's posts sort of in light of any possible j_h/ps interaction. The first time I read CC's stuff I was just so shocked I couldn't really analyze it. But when I read Cho's post about how wasn't it funny that a dressing down by little Colin Creevey made Draco turn tail and hide I thought that was a little odd. Not that Draco wouldn't have been hurt by those things no matter who said them, but it made me go back and see just how adamant Colin is about how all this is coming from Harry (except perhaps for the part about his parents which seemed to come from Goyle!!). PS, imo, already thinks that j_h enjoys unfair power, that everybody loves him because of who he is. So to find out that Harry has not only talked about him negatively (no surprise) but has ripped him apart to the degree that Colin can do it too...that's gotta hurt. (I think if the detention had occurred on its own he'd have been able to handle the animosity from that, in fact.)

So I did think Harry's line about Colin "remembering things for a long time" may very well be Harry's way of saying that he's said some things in the past just because he was angry and didn't realize Colin was keeping a file to quote from. Certainly he never thought anybody would end up using it this way and he didn't like hearing his own words thrown back at him that way. But I don't know if it's really intended to be a message that gets through to ps because Harry may just have resigned himself now to never getting anywhere with him now. Because leaving aside what a git PS has certainly been...could you really go out with or be friends with someone who thought of you that way? Who saw that you were lonely and said you deserved it, when you were (imo) someone who was lonely long before you could ever have deserved it?

Right before this happened Harry was being so solicitous and polite, clearly trying to show he had only the best intentions. I think he knew how his being "the great Harry Potter" was a sensitive issue with ps. (I notice that the new picture he uses is called "a picture" which just makes me think of ps accusing him of not using a picture because he thought he was special.) It seemed like he must have seen some other side to PS that made him want to treat him differently. Then Colin, in his name, not only says cruel things but makes it seem like this is what Harry--the Great Harry Potter-says when ps isn't around to make everyone laugh at him. How could j_h ever see a way to undo that?

I'm not sure how far along ps and j_h are in their understanding of each other. ps didn't make fun of j_h for his fight with Ron. We see Harry as having been so isolated in the past few weeks, but does ps see it that way? He may still see j_h as adored because to him that's what he'll always be. He may not really understand the difference between having people truly care about you and having people who want to be your friend because you're HP. He even had Remus and Sirius inviting him to go flying while ps's parents are about to jet off to Paris to be alone.

anamirza @ April 5 2003, 19:28:28 UTC

But I don't know if it's really intended to be a message that gets through to ps because Harry may just have resigned himself now to never getting anywhere with him now.

Wah! That's so sad! But I'm afraid you may be right - he does seem somewhat resigned, picking up with things again in some semblance of normalcy and once again assuming his role as Harry Potter. (But...but he can't just give up!)

could you really go out with or be friends with someone who thought of you that way?

Not sure who you mean here, j_h or ps. If you mean, ps couldn't go out with j_h because of things said several years ago...well, maybe you could if you knew what sort of misunderstanding they were based on, and how the person had moved on from then. I have had this experience. Yes, it takes longer to build trust - but I don't think it's impossible.

How could j_h ever see a way to undo that?

Well, I think that's what he's trying to do, by saying Colin remembers stuff that even Harry doesn't remember anymore. He knows he can't just talk directly to PS because (a) he's in hiding and (b) he doesn't respond directly to j_h's comments.

He may still see j_h as adored because to him that's what he'll always be. He may not really understand the difference between having people truly care about you and having people who want to be your friend because you're HP. He even had Remus and Sirius inviting him to go flying while ps's parents are about to jet off to Paris to be alone.

Good points all. Now I will go off and be sad. :(

sistermagpie @ April 5 2003, 20:55:55 UTC

Not sure who you mean here, j_h or ps. If you mean, ps couldn't go out with j_h because of things said several years ago...well, maybe you could if you knew what sort of misunderstanding they were based on, and how the person had moved on from then. I have had this experience. Yes, it takes longer to build trust - but I don't think it's impossible.

I think I was imagining how j_h would imagine ps to be feeling. In reality I think ps could move past it. In fact, it could be a good thing that j_h has always seen ps for what he is and he still finds things of value in him. In the past ps probably would think that if anyone knew he was less than what he pretended to be they'd reject him. Now he might realize that Harry likes him as he is.

Well, I think that's what he's trying to do, by saying Colin remembers stuff that even Harry doesn't remember anymore. He knows he can't just talk directly to PS because (a) he's in hiding and (b) he doesn't respond directly to j_h's comments.

The good news is that this is Harry Potter here. He'll keep at it, I think. And I'm hoping that when ps comes out of hiding he may be even ready to do something about it himself. Because he's faced the abyss now. It couldn't get any worse. So with nothing to lose maybe ps will actually be ready to face Harry now. And not care what anybody thinks!

Go off and be happier!

Anonymous @ April 5 2003, 21:08:29 UTC

< In fact, it could be a good thing that j_h has always seen ps for what he is and he still finds things of value in him. In the past ps probably would think that if anyone knew he was less than what he pretended to be they'd reject him. Now he might realize that Harry likes him as he is. >

But what if he doesn't know Harry likes him at all? *wails* If Harry ever tells him he does now, Draco might never believe it!

conversant @ April 5 2003, 18:52:47 UTC

I take it you are responding to my alternate interpretation, and I agree that it is the less likely interpretation based on the collected entries themselves. (Your translation is very perceptive, I think.) That second theory was meant mostly as a reminder of the peculiar nature of the LJ format of this particular role-play game. There's so much we don't get to see and hear. And we have no narrator to fill in or interpret or even set scenes for us. We have to trust what they say, or trust our instincts about what they might be leaving unsaid... As you point out, it is easy to follow Ernie into conspiracy theory mode, but on the other hand, it's important to keep looking for the right angle. Which is why I seem inclined to propose conflicting theories when I post -- and why I think NA is so entertaining.

anamirza @ April 5 2003, 19:12:05 UTC

Yes, I was responding to the second part. Actually, I meant to respond to the first part, too, but I got carried away with the summary :)

The jealousy point I think is a good one. In fact, I was half expecting see a rapprochement between j_h and missgranger, since that would no doubt drive ps nuts. But it hasn't happened thus far.

And it is fun, guessing at the things we are not seeing. Though, I must say, also a bit frustrating to never find out what happened! (or at least, not to have found out yet!!)