The Harry Potter Epic - SPOILER ALERT!

The Harry Potter Epic

SPOILER ALERT!! WE ARE GOING TO BE DISCUSSING HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, ALONG WITH J.K. ROWLING'S ENTIRE SERIES. IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THE BOOKS, OR FOR ANY REASON DO NOT WANT TO KNOW EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS, LEAVE NOW! SERIOUSLY.

la, la, la, la - this is space so that no one accidentally reads something. I put this in here because I don't want to take the rap if someone does, and beleive me, I will. You can thank me, Margie, later.

Spoilers are dead ahead, people, get out now if you don't want to see them. I can only do so much, okay?

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OK, enough already. If you're still here, it means you finished the book or don't care either way.

Rebecca the Bookseller says:

OK, did everyone get that warning? So, listen, if you are still reading, it means you WANT to talk about how the series ends, and you WANT to know all kinds of things about what happens in any of the seven books. Believe me, the Tarts had a hard time deciding whether it was too early. But when Rowling herself discussed the ending yesterday, we took it as a sign.

I have to start out by saying it straight up: This series is a masterpiece. This is an epic that rivals Tolkein's Lord of the Rings and Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. It has all the elements of a multi-generational reading experience - global themes, classic morality tales, and political science commentary. The mere fact that it got a generation dependent on audio-visual stimulation for entertainment to sit down and READ a BOOK is magical in and of itself.

Now - I thought Deathly Hallows was one of the best in the series - the best? Goblet of Fire.

BUT - I did have some questions that troubled me from the beginning of DH - we'll be talking more about some of them throughout the day, but here is my first: Why wasn't everyone consulting with Dumbledore through his portrait? Yes, I know that the school was being run by Death Eaters, but still...

And the Big Calls - who died and who did not. We all had some moments of cold panic over Neville and Hagrid, but FRED?! Not the twins! And BOTH Tonks and Lupin?

And then there is Snape. Like every other character in the book (except you know who), neither all good nor all bad. But to have such a meaningless end? I know it illustrated Voldemort's complete self absorption and lack of emotion, but wow.

OK, I could go on and on and on, but it's time for someone else to have a turn.

Comments

[peach]

DH is definitely the best book in the series. I'd like to discuss Neville's killing of Nagani with the Sword of Gryffindor. How did Neville come to have the sword when it was last seen in the hands of the Goblins in their vaults at the bank? My father and I discussed this yesterday. My theory harks back to Book One when Harry met the Basilisk. You will remember that when the Phoenix brought the Sorting Hat to Harry, the Sorting Hat brought the Sword to him and thus he was able to kill the giant snake. Voldemort put the Sorting Hat on Neville. He needed a weapon to kill the snake and the sword must have been magically transported to his hands. What do you think?

I was a little disappointed that we don't find out in the epilogue any news of George and Luna. I'll leave for now with my father's comment to those who have asked about the book ending: Luna marries a man by the name of Ticks and they have a lot of little Luna-Ticks.

[peach]

I think I mean book one but it might be book two, at this time of the morning I can't think straight.

[rebecca the Bookseller]

Peach - my daughter, who has read the books multiple times, had the same explanation for the Sword of Gryffindor. When I pointed out that during the battle in Chamber of Secrets, the sword was at Hogwarts, not in the hands of a goblin, she pointed out: "It's magic, Mom. That's the whole point."

I saw the first half of Rowlings interview with Meredith Viera - she is planning (we hope it's a plan, right?) to do an Encyclopaedia of all things Potter. She said it was simply impossible to answer all of the questions in the book.

She also said that the original Epilogue was much longer, but that it didn't work and had to be edited.

Key amongst the edits: Harry and Ron are Aurors and Hermoine is a rising star in the Ministry of Magic's Law Enforcement Dept.

Your Dad sounds like a riot!

[Laura (in PA)]

I totally hate that I can't get to this site at work, so I won't be able to keep track of the discussion and put in my 2 cents all day.

I finished the book last night, and I'm still processing. It was an emotional rollercoaster, not only the book itself, but the fact that it's the last one. Here's a few random thoughts:

Totally agree that I think killing off BOTH Tonks and Lupin was overkill (so to speak). And it was almost like an afterthought - he just saw them lying there on his way somewhere else. I wish one of them had made it, so the baby would have a parent.

Snape was one of the most complicated characters I've ever read. After HBP and through this book, I saw no way Rowling could redeem him. But she managed, showing that while his reasons were fairly selfish, he had decent intentions all along. I actually thought his death was well done - not terribly dramatic, but a manifestation of the risk he was taking all along as a double-agent.

McGonagall and Neville ROCK!

What will George do without Fred? I can't stand that the set is broken up. I really thought it would be Mr. Weasley that ended up going, and apparently Rowling had that in her plan for book 5 but couldn't bear to do it.

Powerful scenes, much?

Harry walking to his death. I don't think I've ever read anything more emotional.

Dobby's burial - my god, I didn't think I could get through it.

And another one that got me was when Ron returned to Harry and Hermione in the forest, and was tortured by the horcrux as he was trying to destroy it. Man.

OK, I'll stop now. I'll try to check out any other comments before I leave for work, and I'll be back at the end of the day. I wish I could be here all day, dammit.

And yes, I agree these books totally belong right up there with Tolkein and Lewis. You really feel like they've changed you when you've read them.

Have fun today, folks.

Laura

[rebecca the Bookseller]

Laura - way to go, finishing last night - thank you!

I was nearly hysterical as Harry went to meet Voldemort - between the encounter with Dumbledore and then his parents - I kept picturing that little boy living under the stairs, all by himself.

That's another reason I was upset by the loss of Lupin - he seemed to be Harry's last link with his parents, and his last parental figure.

But maybe that's just me as Mom talking.

[bea]

I love the series.

Luna-ticks. Heh. Excellent.

I have to attend to work matters (dammit), but here are some thoughts.

No more books? Hmm. I won't be surprised if there are more. Harry left the resurrection stone in the forest, and he's not sure where. The wand and the sword presumably remain in proper hands, but it would be a great opener to a new book if one of them turned up missing.

Agree on the sorting hat and sword.

Teddy (Tonks and Luna's son) is an orphan, as was Tom Riddle, Harry, and Neville, for all intents and purposes. I think Tonks and Luna died because of that theme.

Will try to check back later.

[rebecca the Bookseller]

Bea - I hope you're right! I'd love to see a prequel with more on the Hogwarts class of James, Lily, Snape, Lupin, Sirius, etc.

Good point about Teddy. Hoping that comes up in the second half of Rowling's interview.

Thanks for checking in before work. Damn clients. This entire week should have been a national reading holiday.

[rebecca the Bookseller]

OK - I have to go to an appointment, but I will be back later this morning. Can't wait to see what I've missed, and I'm counting on the rest of you to keep things going!

[William Simon]

Hmm....you're all making me wonder if I should give the series another try. I read 1 and half of 2, couldn't really get into them. All this passion and excitement about the series has me thinking about trying it again.

But....if Luna's Husband has a brother named Tocks......

[SarahS]

I hurriedly read the book from 12:30 a.m. Saturday to 6 p.m. Saturday with a 5 hour break for sleep, so I may have missed stuff.

I know I'm out on a limb here when I contradict everyone by saying I do NOT think this was the best book in the series. To me it felt rushed and almost soulless. Ron's petulance on the road and the way the Deathly Hallows were thrown in really buged me.

So here's my analysis;

The most moving parts - Dobby Funeral. Was that Laura who said she almost didn't survive that? Me,too. And Rowling had me at Harry's "death" - I thought, OMG - She's really going to do it!

I love, love, love Fred and George. Couldn't stand that. But Percy's return was nice.

I thought parts of it dragged. I felt as if Rowling was burdened by the school year so Harry had to make it from summer to spring.

Where was Ginny? Aside from one brief interlude that portended more, there was nothing. I really wanted Harry to bring Ginny into his circle and would have appreciated Neville with a bigger role. He is such a great character and with his family history he deserved more. But Ginny? Ginny? Harry didn't even get to throw himself in Ginny's arms at the end. (I remember one of our bloggers suggesting that - Ramona?)

Snape: I thought he could have been handled with much more sophistication. Yes, the love story could have played a part. But I would have liked to see him be a world-weary wizard who felt Harry needed some toughening up. As it was, I felt his death was anti-climactic.

Rowling's monologues- Honestly, she's got to quit this. Having Dumbledore explain everything at the end reallly bugged me. Reminded me of a poorly written mystery. (I think I've used this technique myself, so I should know.)

Dumbledore - Why did she have to trash him? It didn't make sense to me. .

Okay.That's all I'll write for now. Really interested to hear what other people think

[katiebird]

(I hope you don't mind an outsider jumping in.)

The sword thing was my biggest question. The scene was so well written, I just blew past it as I read. But, later as I was taking a walk, I wondered about it (I've even checked google and there is already a lot of chit-chat about the question. Did you know there's even a swordofgryffindor.com?)

I guess that in the case of the sword, it's more loyal to true Gryffindor than to the Goblin's who made it.

And while it's personally frustrating to me that I don't KNOW how the sword got away from the Goblin and in the hat for Neville, as a reader, I do like it when author's don't spell out every single thing. In real life things happen that we don't totally understand. It's not magic, but the explanations aren't obvious.

Also, I raced through the book so fast -- I was so nervous for everyone -- that I have to go back and reread for the details that I'm sure I missed.

And more also, I was very relieved that Harry didn't lose honor over that Sword/Goblin plan. That the goblin took it before Harry had a chance to do something he would have regretted.

[SarahS]

Katiebird: There are no outsiders here.

I keep thinking there was a line in the book that explained the sword thing. Or maybe that's what I assumed as I read it.

My husband wanted to know, if the Elder Wand is so great, how come everyone who has it, dies?

I would have liked more of the book to take place in Hogwarts. I can understand Rowling's need for an encyclopedia.....Will we stay up until midnight for that, too?

[katiebird]

Sarah (thank you!)

About the Elder Wand, it doesn't grant eternal life (does it?) I think of it as a sort of magical gun. So if you aren't actually using it, you're not getting extra protection. (maybe?)

One of the things I have to read slower is that whole scene where defeated Draco Malfoy. I was so nervous for everyone (and scared) that I REALLY read fast through that bit. And it turned out to be critical to the story.

[Karen Olson]

I was totally broken up over Dobby. And I didn't even like him much. So that was unexpected.

I agree that having Teddy Lupin a boy orphan at the end was in keeping with the books' theme of boy orphans and thought that from the moment we saw Tonks' and Lupin's bodies.

The sword at the end was a sticking point for me, too, and this explanation here makes a lot of sense.

And as far as the elder wand, well, according to the story told, it was the invisibility cloak that was the thing that kept one alive, and that's what Harry had through most of the series.

I, too, did think Harry was going to die at the end. She did that really really well. But the chapter afterward, when he's talking with Dumbledore, seemed a bit misplaced and could've been done better. So it turned this exciting, harrowing scene into an anti-climax.

I saw part of the Rowling interview online last night, and it's nice to know Harry and Ron are Aurors but even though she said the epilogue was too long and had to be cut, she could've just put a word or sentence in there to tell us that.

Waiting all night for a Harry Potter encyclopedia? Puh-leeze. No way. It's over for me, and while the ride was fun and I'll re-read, I'm sure, that's it.

[ramona]

William, I wish you would give the series another try.

I speed-read the book last Saturday-Sunday. I am still not over Fred's death. When George lost the ear, I thought, okay, the twins have suffered, so they are safe now. Percy showing up should have been a clue--you gain one, you lose one. The death was so low key--no dramatic wand duel or one-on-one battle with some baddie--but his last words were a joke, and joking with the prodigal brother, so I suppose that was right. She had to kill a young person who had influenced and helped Harry (Marauder's map, anyone?) and I think it had to hurt by being a peson who enjoyed life (F&G fleeing Hogwarts, with Peeves' blessing, can you beat that moment for joy?), so to kill someone whose role in the book was to provide humor, someone who was fearless and loyal and drove his mom batty, was a good decision. But, man, what an ouch. I'd like to think George and Percy will run the joke shop now. Also, in a teen message board I spy on (literary section, only!), some kid commented that they hope George's ear is buried with Fred. Thought that was cute.

I love love love Neville more than ever--and don't mess with his Gran! Once he said she was proud of him, I thought his character was complete. But he had to do a big gesture, and killing the snake satisfied me, esp. after he did the call to arms for Dumbledore's Army. Talk about character growth! I wanted him to kill Bellatrix, but that actually worked out better. Molly got to avenge the death of her son (what a bitch--making that Freddie comment! Grrr) and then, when Voldemort was ready to kill Molly in revenge, Harry was able to save his surrogate mother. All worked out.

I, too, was confused about the sword appearing in the hat. And how did he escape from the body bind curse?

I liked what she did with the Malfoys. In the end, all they really cared about was Draco. Narcissa, in effect, saved Harry by claiming he was dead, which she only owed him after he and Ron saved Draco's a$$. Twice, was it?

And Dudley! When the books first came out, one of my sons mispronounced the name as "Dude-ly." We have always teased him about it, but this book, he was the Dudely!

The Snape-Petunia-Lily story really reinforced the power of rejection.

I was disappointed that Viktor Krum only showed up at the wedding, pointing out the lack of good-looking women available to sports heroes. Heh. On the flip side, I was pleased that Oliver Wood made a final appearance. I always liked him.

There's been a lot of discussion about the epilogue--love it or hate it. I think she had to do some real closure for her younger readers. Truly, I think there would have been hysteria if she'd left the ending open in any way, and there's been some much interest in the romantic aspects of the story that I think she was compelled to put it all to rest. That being said, I hated that Hermoine and Ron ended up as a couple. I will, however, give him points for reading that relationship book. At least he tried.

There, surely I've gone over the quota for giving my opinion, plus I think I've used up my year's supply for exclamation marks!!!!!!

[ramona]

One more comment--no, Sarah, it wasn't me who suggested Harry throw himself in Ginny's arms. I actually thought Harry would end up alone.

I hope Neville is married, BTW, with a bunch of little Longbottoms running around. I think he'd be a great dad. Maybe he married Luna?

[Scotsie]

I agree with most of the comments made, though I wonder just where on earth JK's editor was in the whole middle forest sequence. Was JK going for some who Hamlet-esque indecision? If so, she failed because it made me bored and annoyed. That whole middle 150 page section could have read much faster and maintained the pacing of the novel with a good, strong editor with a red pencil. But, I can imagine it's pretty intimidating to edit JK. I'm also in the process of researching "make your own bumper stick" sites online to create some that say "TONKS & LUPIN LIVE!" a la those "Thelma & Louise" ones you see *g*.

[peach]

I read the book in 8 hours last Saturday. As always the story kept me enthralled and pushed me to get to the climax.Thus some important details don't stay in my memory, at some point in the next year I will probably reread the entire book. On Wednesday evening I reread the last part of the book beginning from Voldemort's announcement that Harry had one hour to meet him in the forest. Of course this second reading clarified things in my mind and offered up details the first reading had let slip by. I look forward to rereading the entire series, probably in two years when, the final movie is released. I just hope that the final two movies don't deviate from the books as HP5 did. Unlike many, I thought this film was a piece of c#*p.

Dumbledore: In the entire series, he was always shown to wise, all-knowing, can't do anything wrong or have evil thoughts and deeds. Book seven had to show that no person can be free of fault, both to Harry and to the reader. Harry's conversation with him when Voldemort 'Killed' him was the only way for Dumbledore to explain himself and his actions to Harry and thus help Harry to know what he had to do next.

It has taken the entire series for Harry to realize that the actions of others are driven by things he doesn't know about or doesn't understand. He is a child growing up and thus sees the world mostly in the extremes of black or white. His treatment of Kreacher in the previous books was colored by his godfathers viewpoint. Finally in Book 7 Hermoinie helps him finally see that Kreacher is product of how he was treated and thus once treated with kindness and understanding he is able to help Harry not hinder.

It takes Snape's death and Harry's viewing of Snape's memories in the Pensieve to make Harry realize he was wrong about Snape. Harry finally grows into adult thinking) and then honors Snape's memory (and Dumbledore's) by naming his second son Albus Severus.

Ginny: She was never a major driving character to the plot of the book. As much as we as adults want her to play more of a part in Harry's final battle or for him to acknowledge her afterwards, these were not romance novels and he had to end as he began with his two best friends.

I believe that if Rowling tried to give more detail to all the characters that appear in DH who played a role in previous books, the book would have ended up being twice a long. So we get brief mentions of them. They are acknowledged as having played a role, but ultimately these are books about Harry Potter.

I have to leave now and probably won't be able to return the entire day. I'll have to read all the comments tomorrow.

[Scotsie]

Scratch the "who" in front of Hamlet. Not sure where that came from. Must have been some Dark Magic that makes random, unwanted words appear in blog comments.

[Lee Lofland]

I agree with William. I just couldn't get into either of the books, not at all. I am curious; however, about Harry Potter's fate. Everyone seems to dance around that topic. Did he live or is the issue just too painful for loyal fans to discuss?

[ramona]

He lives, Lee.

It's a shame you guys haven't been able to share in the Pottermania, but hey, I could never read Tolkien and thought the LOTR movies were a bore. (ducking now)

[amanda]

I understand not getting into the books, but I'm grateful to have shared in the Pottermania. It's an experience I will never forget.

I'm just de-lurking to say that I loved the epilogue--loved the whole book! Harry has been searching for family the entire time--remember the Mirror of Erised?--and he's lost every surrogate family member--Sirius, Lupin, Dumbledore, even Snape on some level--so it was fabulous to see him with a big family, extended to the Weasleys.

I wept multiple times--especially with Dobby and Percy and Fred and Lupin and the walk into the forest! Oh my gosh!

Anyway, for those who've read it multiple times, I recommend re-reading them backwards--it gave me tremendous insights!

Have a super day!

[lowly employee of your favorite bookstore]

well...as a facebook group i recently joined so succinctly put it, "my childhood ended with page 759". The series of my youth, spanning my life from age 8 to 18 has come to a close, and you bet your bottom i cried. The last 100 pages were a blur of sadness, mirth, terror, and contentment. I have read many books for my years, way too many, and the HP series, while not outranking Jane Austen, lies directly beside her on my bookshelf. That being said...

Issues: Even though I knew throughout the book that snape had to be good, ie the fact that JK kept making him seem completely evil, was I the only one who totally didn't see the lily love thing?!?! i mean, it all makes sense in retrospect but geez way to throw a curve ball. oh, and since when does pensive ooze out of your eyes and mouth? i thought it came from your temple...well maybe after you have been killed in cold blood it changes...who knows, as some one so sagely put it "its magic, thats the whole point"

tonks and lupin: holy crap. one minute they are alive and kickin' the next they are dead, it kinda felt like she checked her list of dead so far and it didn't seem depressing enough, so she just killed them. not much closure there

the sword: maybe its cause i read the other books 8 times (all of them *sigh*) but i caught on to the whole sorting hat thing pretty quick...didn't however really get why voldemort made it burn...seemed a little arbitrary (sp)

percy: wtf...where did he come from?!?

epilogue: it was nice, in a bad way. too much of a gap, and too much closure. although the naming of all the 15million kids was cute

favorite moments:
hermoine: not really a moment, just her in general. she rocks, she is the bomb, she is...hermoine

ron and hermoine: YIPEEE!!!!! read that page about 15 times before moving on...and the fact that it was because ron cared about the house elves...again *sigh*

dobby's funeral: good in the worst possible way, this was when it really hit me that the series was ending, i mean how can you have HP without dobby.

the last 100 pages: constant confusion, turmoil, and terror. just how i like it!!! it had you reeling right to the very end and i felt like JK managed to get everysingle frickin thing to happen that could. and of course neville was amazing, as always. in the movie in my mind that tends to happen when i read these books i could just see the look on voldemort's face as harry was talking...kind of a mix between holy shit and you can't be serious

and finally dumbledore: i take my imaginary hat off to JK. she had me hating him, i mean how could he have not revealed any of that, when he saw how troubled harry was...i mean come on...she made it all right in the end though...of course she did! but i really did believe that dumbledore was royally screwed up for a bit there

i know i know this is ridiculously long, but all my friends are slow readers and i have been dying to discuss this!!! i'm on the second read through and already i am catching much more so my suggestion is if you read it as fast as I did...4 hours and 46 minutes...re read it.

[SarahS]

Hey! You guys are really making me like this book! Thank you!

Dear lowly employee: You recall my daughter who cried on the way to the bookstore on Friday night. This was the end of her childhood. She was 8 or so when she started reading the books and now she's 16. She's going to see Harry Potter in iMax this weekend.

Rowling has really given us a true gift. My mother had the Wizard of Oz and she tried to explain to me how influential those were. Didn't get it.

But this I get. And I feel lucky to have lived through it.

I also remember the first time I heard of HP. I was in Bear Pond Books, our local bookstore, and was in the children's section, looking for something with "magic and humor" for Anna before our whole family took a train ride to Florida. Martha, the children's bookseller, hand sold me HP. She said it was so popular in England, they had to reprint another cover so adults could read it without being embarrassed. I think the cover had a train on it.

Considering all the crap that's going on in the world, I like to think of JK Rowling's books as a Divine gift. Honestly.

[Kathy MH]

Wow! Fantastic comments. We had a Harry Potter weekend, starting with the film followed by 24 hours of non-stop reading.

To whoever said Neville and Luna should've ended up together, I tip my hat. Poor Neville needed more page time;)

Nothing new to add, although I love the idea of parental love being this thing that supercedes all. We've known that with Harry's parents forever, and with Ron's, but to discover that the Malfoy's are also ruled by it was wonderful.

I too felt like the book dragged a bit, but that may have been in my anxiety to see how everything was going to turn out.

I was bit surprised that there wasn't more to Petunia (Harry's mother's sister). For a long time I suspected that she harbored magical skills but suppressed them. To find out that her only real role was in mocking Snape was disappointing to me.

I spent two thirds of the book convinced that J.K. was going to let Snape be evil and that was that. It was such a tremendous relief when the cracks began to appear and we slowly received confirmation that he wasn't so bad afterall.

I also wish the epilogue had taken time to explain what Harry, Ron and Hermione were doing job wise -- they literally saved the world and it would've been nice to see how they were continuing to maintain its safety, rather than just hearing about their home lives.

Kathy MH

[Josh]

Okay, Sarah, here's the ending that I told my daughter: Hermoine was in her bed sleeping, and Harry came into her room and starting bitching, again, about Voldemort. Hermoine thought, "enough is enough," put on a robe, went outside, found Voldemort, yanked the Elder Wand out of his hands, broke it over her knee, and rammed each end into an ear. Viola! No more Voldemort. Then, she went back to sleep. After reading the book, my daughter told me that I was wrong, but she giggled when she told my wife.

I told a slightly different version to my son, with Hermoine in her room, but not asleep, having her Hitachi Magic Wand doing the voodoo that it does. Harry showed up when she was thisclose, and she went and got all medieval on Voldemort. Then, with the moment ruined, to sleep. I have deleted the score or so of expletives that she used, again, in my original version.

[lowely employee of your favorite bookstore]

Kathy MH: don't remember where i read this...i think it may have been in this blog...but apparently harry and ron are aurors and hermoine is the ministry. just to satisfy your curiosity, JK said this in an interview. apparently the epilogue was much longer but it had to be edited and she thought people cared about the relationships more than the jobs...i don't know if i agree.

[Scotsie]

Here's the MSNBC link, with interviews and article, that reveals the "After-Epilogue": http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19959323/

[Shannon W.]

I loved the book.

A few things. I also was confused about the sword until I was reminded of book 2 where it takes a "True Gryffindor" to have the sword come to you. Neville's courage and strength made him a true Gryffindor. The sword belonged to Gryffindor. Would love to have seen Griphook's face when he realized the sword was gone though!

I cried many times through out the book (Hedwig, Dobby, Ron's "demons", Harry's walk) but as I am a twin myself, Fred's death was a real blow to me. I can't imagine being "separated" from my twin and when George is holding Fred's head I just lost it.

My mom said that she thinks JKR had Tonks and Lupin both die because they made Harry little Teddy's godfather and now Harry can finally be the godfather he had (and always wanted) for only a short time with Sirius.

Also, I now have to listen to my dad say "I told you so" about Snape. He was thrown a little when Snape sat at the right hand of Voldemort, but always thought Snape was "good".

I am one of the few who liked the ending, but wished for more. Was glad for the interview with JKR and read that Luna and Neville got together. Always saw those two as a pair.

One last thing: I always expected someone from the Dursley's would stick up for Harry, but I always expected it to be Aunt Petunia. I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be "ittle duddikins" I never thought one little action would make me completely change my mind about him.

[rebecca the Bookseller]

Great discussion! Glad to see so many of you finished the book.

Welcome to our newcomers and former lurkers - your comments are always welcome!

OK - anyone have any opinions on the 'thing' at King's Cross while Dumbledore and Harry were having their final conversation before Harry went back to confront Voldemort?

My daughter said she knew immediately, but I did not.

[Merrilee]

I've enjoyed reading everyone's comments. Some interesting ideas on the book. I personally thought it was the best of a wonderful series
Merrilee

[katiebird]

I knew I should have done my re-read before today!

"any opinions on the 'thing' at King's Cross while Dumbledore and Harry were having their final conversation"

My mind is totally blank.

I liked the conversation and the interlude. But, I don't remember a 'thing'

[SusanS]

I was so glad to see that; Ron finally got some backbone (returning to Harry and Hermione and what came after); Harry finally got his act together (wanted to slap some sense into that boy on several occassions); Hermione stayed as heroic and brilliant as she has always been; Neville grew into such a hero; Percy finally came to his self-important senses; AND Harry took Voldemort down several dozen pegs before working things out so that Voldemort essentially killed himself. To quote Ron; Brilliant!

Fred's death killed me. What a blow! And Doby - sobbed over that one. When Hedwig died at the beginning, I knew it wasn't going to be pretty for the good guys.

I have to agree, though, that a lot of the first half dragged. Was please the pace picked up to lightning speed after the middle.

[MomE]

I am sure the "thing" at Kings Cross was Voldemort's Soul - He had to be in limbo along with Harry didn't he?

I loved the idea that Kings Cross is where Harry sees the line between two worlds - life and Death and Muggle and magic.

Dobby and Hedwig were really hard for me to take but killing Fred destroyed me as he and George are some of my favorite characters.

I too had to read the book really fast as my husband was trying to paitently wait for me to finish so he could start so i can't wait to re read and get more details. Before the book came out I said I would be really angry if Harry had to die but by the time he was walking onto the forest I was amazed at how I had accepted it (but I cried buckets and my poor husband realized that he must be dying) I think this series has been wonderful and for those that think Rowling is over explaining - remember she was writing for kids and in the future the 8 year olds who start reading the series won't be 16 when the last book is read - they can read them back to back...thanks for a great conversation to get me out of lurking mode...

[Michele]

Harry lives.

I agree that the sword came to Neville because the sorting hat gives people what they most need, which was explained in an earlier book. I think he escaped the body binding curse because Voldemort ended up binding that portion of his own sole which was inside Harry. I thought JK did a good job with the last book. But, I think she should have mentioned what jobs they went on to have. You have to look around and listen to interviews to get the information and not all do that.

[Lana]

I loved this book, even the long-drawn-out middle bit. Harry explained to Voldemort why Neville escaped from the full body-bind - Harry's sacrifice of himself for his friends had given them the same protection that his mother had given him, even though he survived the sacrifice. And surely the 'thing' in the railway station was Voldemort as he would become? It was described exactl the same way as the proto-Voldemort was described in an earlier book, and Harry also told Voldemort during the final battle that he had seen what Voldemort would become if he didn't feel any remorse.
I would pay for the full epilogue - do you think they'd consider selling it for download or something? And thank you so much for revealing their jobs - it was so frustrating not to know, especially about Hermione, as we could pretty much guess that the other two would be Aurors.

[Debby]

I also just finished HP last night, after having my father make snide comments about why wasn't I done yet...ummm, cause you keep interrupting me?

I totally loved this book, and was glad to have been able to take two of my nieces to the midnight magic party at our local B&N. Incredibly overwhelming, but definitely fun.

My take is so similar to Laura's...

Dobby: I cried.

Fred: I cried.

Dumbledore: What a shock!

Snape: I kind of figured that he would be good, but so anti-climactic having Harry come to realize Snape's goodness later.

Lupin & Tonks: To abrupt, a major 'huh?' moment for me. And who raised Teddy? Not Harry and Ginny as Harry mentions that Teddy visits about four nights a week, so was it Tonks' parent/s?

Sword: It's magic, and I remembered how it continued to be said that only a true Gryffindor could weild it.

Neville: Yippee!!! He was finally able to prove himself to himself and others.

I am done. Now, I just have to go purchase a replacement copy of 'Half Blood Prince' since my father seems to have misplaced my original copy.

[SarahS]

The flayed baby thing really grossed me out. Charlie said it was Voldemort's soul, too. It really bothered me.

What bothered me about the epilogue was that they led such rather mundane lives. And what's with all the kids? We're going to have a population crisis if they don't watch out.

And I think her fans would have loved a much longer Epilogue. I know I would have.

Anna pointed out that the book must be great because we keep talking about it. Though now we have to shut up because Sam's out of camp and is reading/listening to the book.

Did everyone notice that Harry didn't kill one person? Not even Voldemort who was killed by his own spell that ricocheted. I thought this was really, really important. JKR doesn't want her fans to model any violet behavior.

And the triumph of motherhood over evil? YES!!!

[Meryl]

Rebecca, I totally agree about Dumbledore's portrait. She should have had them at least try to get into his office and fail. They kept running around not knowing where the Horcrux was and wishing they could ask Dumbledore when he was right there in his portrait all the time.

I also thought the forest scenes lagged a bit in the middle. Harry became a bit umbearable too. I wish more of the book had taken place at Hogwarts.

I didn't like the epilogue, but I suppose she had to do it to protect the future of her characters and satisfy readers.

I didn't mind so much not having more of Ginny, but I would have liked to have seen more of Neville and Luna.

Overall, a great book and a great series.

[lowely employee of your favorite bookstore]

i probably shouldn't still be reading this seeing as i'm at work :) but i am...

so, i agree that there didn't really need to be more on ginny. I would have LOVED it, like seriously, but it was necessary. more back at hogwarts would have been unnecessary. i loved how harry, ron, and hermoine would hear about random things about rebellion back at hoggy woggy hogwarts. and the fact that the rebellious characters were actually living in the castle...priceless. and i thought the idea that harry protected all of his friends by dying for them was so great...yay harry!!! another small wonder: hermoines bag...i want one of those

[Pam aka SisterZip]

I am almost finished with Chamber of Secrets. Can't wait to get to the good stuff!!

[Michele]

"the thing at King's Crossing"
I didn't know what it was at first, but when they kept talking, I figured it out.

Petunia - not only did it show her being mean to Snape, it also explained a lot to me. She was obviously jealous that she was not a witch. Why else would she write to Dumbledore trying to get into Hogwarts and then when she couldn't... start being hateful to Lily about it.

Snape and Lily - I figured it out in HP5 when Harry saw how Snape was treated at Hogwarts.

[Michele]

Teddy must have been raised by Tonk's mom because wasn't Tonk's dad killed by Death Eaters...

[Elaine Viets]

I loved this series and I read all the books. I didn't like it when Fred, Tonks and Lupin died, but it was a bold move by the author. When you make favorites immune from death, it becomes a cartoon.
Of course, it's rough on Tonks and Lupin's baby, but being an orphan was the making of Harry, right?

[Shannon W.]

I would say that Teddy is being raised by his grandmother (Tonk's mom). Tonk's dad (Ted) died in the book and that's who they named Teddy after. She would have wanted to take care of him after losing her husband, daughter and son-in-law. Harry played godfather by having Teddy over for dinner all the time.

[Julia Buckley]

I really enjoyed this whole series, and I'm in the camp who did greatly enjoy book seven. I was generally pleased with the resolution, although my friend Lydia pointed this out: where were the Durmstrang and Beauxbaton allies in the final fight? And where is Hagrid's girlfriend? And what was the point of his brother clomping around when he really didn't do anything and the huger giants should by all rights have killed him?

But I loved Neville, Luna, and the fact that "Dumbledore's Army" helped to elicit the basic courage in each of these young people.

Fred's death was a horrible shock, and I was very distressed not to get some follow up in the epilogue about George. Is he still running the store without Fred? How did he cope? Does he have some sort of tribute to Fred there? I couldn't believe he got no mention.

And excuse me? Kids named for Snape and Dumbledore, but no one named for Fred? Not even Ron's son? I was disappointed, and also not thrilled that Hermione and Ginny got barely any dialoge in the epilogue, as if the message was that they are both married off and have no more identities.

I did see the Rowling video in which she reveals that Ron and Harry are aurors and Hermione is a bigwig at the Ministry; I don't recall her mentioning Ginny, who got rather short shrift.

And I really wasn't happy with the resolution of Teddy. I wanted a moment when Harry sat down with his godson and said, "Listen, I know what it is to be an orphan, but when I was young I learned that I had a most wonderful godfather, and he gave me hope. I want to be as good a godfather to you as Sirius was to me." Instead Teddy is just offstage, "snogging." Kind of a bummer.

In general, though, it was great, and that moment when Harry faced Dumbledore and talked about the elder wand? Totally DIRTY HARRY, so I guess he's Dirty Harry Potter. Do you feel lucky, punk Voldemort?

Julia Buckley

[Michele]

I am interested to see how they do with the last couple of movies. My son was very upset with the HP4 & HP5 movies. He said that they cut too much out and that people who had not read the HP books wouldn't understand what was going on. I hope they do justice with the last two movies... especially HP7 since it will be the ending.

[SarahS]

Listen, I know what it is to be an orphan, but when I was young I learned that I had a most wonderful godfather, and he gave me hope. I want to be as good a godfather to you as Sirius was to me."

This is really beautiful, Julia.

I expect there'll be a lot of Internet fan fiction after this. Like Buffy.

I'd be itching to write it myself - if I didn't have another book to write.

[ramona]

Michele, when this movie comes out, I'm going to be a human puddle. Starting with Hedwig going poof. By the time we get to Fred...well, I don't even know how to end that. I'm just about crying now.

Julia, I agree with you on the absence of Beauxbaton and Durmstrang people. What happened there? I was afraid for a bit that Viktor would be a bad guy, and I didn't want that. Instead, he was just a jock. Ditto on your comment about no one naming a kid after Fred. I thought surely Ron and Hermoine would pony up and have a little Freddy, though I would not wish twins upon them.

Whoever said they all led mundane lives in the end--after all the trauma of their youth, don't you think they were all due a little peace and boredom?

[Julia Buckley]

Thanks, Sarah.

By the way, I made up a Harry Potter game on my blog which involves coming up with your own Rowling-sounding names. It's fun if anyone wants to try.

[Julia Buckley]

Ramona, that's a good point--and Harry did say, didn't he, that he'd had enough trouble for a lifetime?

[SarahS]

That was me, Ramona....I took objection to the line about Hermione nagging Ron about parallel parking. Ick.

[rebecca the Bookseller]

My daughter pointed out to me that the 'Thing' had to have been Voldemort, then took me to the graveyard scene in Goblet of Fire, where Voldemort is described. Makes sense.

I wanted more about Teddy as well.

One thing we haven't discussed is Harry as a horcrux. Interesting and a twist I didn't see coming at all.

I thought Dubledore's explanation of 'Love conquers all', which began in Book One, was beautiful. It took Harry the entire series to understand it.

[Beth TH]

Mind if I jump in? I like to think that George has a little Freddie and that's why Ron and Hermione don't.

I figured out the sword and the sorting hat, but it took osome digging to figure out why and when the Elder wand had transferred its allegiance to Draco (when Draco disarmed Dumbledore near the end of Book 6).

I agree with all of you who said Neville and Luna rock. I still wish Neville had gotten to kill Bellatrix. Mrs. Weasely should have gotten Fenrir.

Still, I loved the book. I'm starting over with Sorcerer's Stone and going through.

(Sigh) Can't believe it's over, but I will definitely buy the encyclopedia, as long as J.K. explains what became of everyone.

[Lee Lofland]

Holy Cow! As an outsider of the HP world, this all sounds like a weird foreign language to me.

I can't help but wonder what Jack Reacher thinks of all this...

[Katherine C.]

Okay, I'm putting my two cents in first, then reading the other posts, so if there's repetition, sorry. Now, on with DH:
I was highly upset by the orphaning (is that a word? probably not. oh well.) of poor little Teddy (a fabulous name by the way). I kind of expected her to kill off either Lupin or Tonks, but not both! Not cool. There are enough parentless children in this series thank you.
Re: Snape. I KNEW IT!!!!!!! I KNEW HE WAS NOT EVIL, AND THAT HE AND DUMBLEDORE HAD PLANNED FOR SNAPE TO STEP IN AND KILL HIM SO MALFOY WOULDN'T HAVE TO. I KNEW IT! HA! That poor man is tragically misunderstood. So he carried some of his very understandable bitter hatred for James and Sirius over onto Harry. Big deal. Helped toughen Harry up. His hatred of all things Snape pushed him through many a sticky situation and helped him push himself to be better. Snape is innocent. I feel vindicated against all the doubters. And trust me, I have been gloating to the doubting Thomases. He should have had a better end though, and we didn't really get to see much of him, which I for one found disappointing.
Re: Neville. I HEART NEVILLE. I was so happy to see him really come into his own in this one. My only complaint is that it would have been really cool to intersperse some of the Steinbeck-esque (a la Grapes of Wrath) "Yes we're still living in a tent. No, it's still not fun" stuff in the middle with scenes of what was going on with Neville and company back at Hogwarts.
I figured Harry would end up at Hogwarts toward the end because of the last horcrux. You just knew it would be there, and I like that she wrapped up the conflict with Voldemort where it started.
I also kind of liked the epilogue. Mostly because I liked the second son being named after Dumbledore and Snape (I'm a wee bit of a Snape fan, what can I say). Other than that, I think we all could have drawn our own conclusions as to what happens with everyone, but this works to. I also thoroughly enjoyed the fact that Draco was balding early. Serves the little weasel right.
Serious complaint No. 2: Umbridge. What the hell?!?! That woman had some serious pain coming her way, and she didn't get it. I am NOT happy about that. At the very least she could have done with a kick or two while they were on their way out of the courtroom. Yup. Definitely some unfinished business with Dolores.
Serious objection #3: The Weasley situation. Umm. Yeah. Percy needed to do some more grovelling. I'm sorry but, "I'm sorry, I've been a big prat, and I would have come back sooner, but I've had to extricate myself slowly," just doesn't cut it. I'm not saying no forgiveness, I'm just saying he should have had to work for it a little more (so I'm vindictive. Sue me.). Also FRED?!?!?! REALLY?!?!?! I distinctly remember ordering Rowling to leave the twins alone. This is what happens when people don't listen. If a Weasley had to go (and you know one did) did it have to be one of my twins? Why not Percy? He's a jerk. Or Charlie? We never got really attached to him. Or Ginny. I like Ginny, but I would have been willing to sacrafice (sp) her to save Fred. That, to me, was the worst of all her killings. Why my twins? You can't separate the twins!!!! Not cool J.K., not cool. We're going to be having words.
And I'd like to reiterate: Am I the only one for whom those last couple of chapters with Harry "dead" in a secluded, wooded location surrounded by the enemy, enemy torturing said hero just to make sure he's "really dead", getting carried back to the good guys so the bad guys can gloat, then "miraculously" coming back to life to finish off the head evil dude in a final battle? Anyone? I don't know what book it was in, but I KNOW I've read that scene somewhere. I know I have. I think. Give me a while and eventually I'll wake up at 2 a.m. with the book title, which I will promptly forget again by the time I get out of bed later that same morning.
Okay, this is getting long, so I'm going to shut up now. Just one last thing: was Dobby really necessary? Really? 'Cause I kind of think no. And Bellatrix died too fast also (that vindictive streak coming out again).

[ramona]

Lee, I am sure that Jack Reacher is a Potter fan. That leaves you and William alone in the wilderness.

[Beth TH]

Snape. I can't believe I didn't mention Snape. I've been a believer in Snape since Book 1--always loved him and felt that he was good. I wish we'd seen more of him. His death was a bit sudden. I'd hoped he could show his heroicism in a more public way, not just..disposed of when Voldemort was finished with him. Can you imagine how lonely his life must have been? And how strong he must have been to do all he did? He must have been the world's greatest master of Occlumancy. I at least wanted some show of recognition from the others that he was a true hero. (Not just Harry, the whole lot of them.)

Wept like a baby when Dobby died, but I knew it was coming as soon as Bellatrix threw that knife.

And Fred. Oh, my heart. George and Fred have always been among my favorites. I still can't believe Fred's gone. Maybe I can just convince myself it just ain't so.

[lowly employee of your favorite bookstore]

i just converted a long time harry potter objector!!!! forced them(shall not be named) to pick up the first book and poof they are devouring the second. it feels so good to pass the love on to another person.

back to the conversation:
harry as a horcrux was cool, it made it possible for JK to sacrifice him, thus showing his bravery, but then bring him back to life, thus saving thousands of people from having to pay for therapy

some one was talking about the absense of a little fred, and JK has said that amongst the weasley children there are 19 kids borns, so there must be a fred in there somewhere.

also, thankyou to whomever reminded me about the book five thing with lily and snape, now i get it.

HP7 as a movie will be AWESOME!!! i mean, putting aside the fact that we will have to watch a kijillion people die, ron and hermoine get to kiss, ginny and harry too, but we will already have seen that in movie 6 (hopefully) that and i really want to see the final battle on screen, that is going to be so cool...

oh and in my head umbridge falls in love with a centaur and kills herself rather than realize her love...weird i know

[Annette]

Harry lives is what I cared about the most.
I have mixed feeling about some things in DH. I was disappointed in Hermoine. In all of the other books she was always so smart, rational and brave. In DH she appeared to be confussed and scared. I did not like the fact that she ended up with Ron. Harry, Ron and Hermoine were three very close friends with a bond based on that friendship. She should have ended up with George or Percy.
SarahS, I too noticed that Harry never killed anyone. That was very important to me.
I was very upset over the numerous deaths, especially Fred and my God Hedwig, right in the beginning. Now I know I am going to upset some people, but I don't understand why she had Hagrid live. As much as I love Hagrid, I think she should have left him among the dead.
I just knew all along that Snape and Dumbledore had a plan. Snape doesn't come across as really good in the end. His love for Lily was kind of weird. I think deep down Snape was a jealous pure blooded snob.
It was also good to know that Dumbledore was not perfect. He did make mistakes.
I understood why Neville caught the sword. That was explained in Chamber of Secrets.
I loved he final battle scenes with the house elves and forest animals fighting with the good guys.
If y'all recall in our prediction blog last week, I said that I thought Dudley would do something out of character. Well he didn't become a cop or a priest, but he did show that he was human and not a total selfish jerk. But Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia didn't suprise me. I guess they were just too old to change their ways.
While JKR did pretty much tie up all loose ends and bring some closure, I have some questions. There is still so much more I would have liked to know. Like. How did Hagrid escape the spiders? What was the purpose of the giants? They were too confussing.
Why didn't some of the wizards from other countries, GOF, Viktor, come to help in the final battle? We don't even know who is Hogwart's new Headmaster. Is Percy running the joke shop with George. And my goodness wouldn't you love to read a scene where Molly fusses over a grandchild? I predict there will be some pressure for JKR to publish the uneditted epilogue.

[Joyce Tremel]

I guess I'll confess, too. I've never read Potter either (ducking).

[lowly employee of your favorite bookstore]

go to this fantastic website

www.mysterylovers.com

and BUY THE FIRST BOOK!!!!!

[ramona]

Joyce, I guess you'll just have to keep Lee and William company out in the wilderness. [wink]

[rebecca the Bookseller]

I'm with Katherine on some of the objections - and here is a big one -

The Malfoys are just walking around? Excuse me? Draco was old enough to do something to help those people held in the basement and tortured. And you know the whole pack of them were using unforgivable curses all over the place.

Also - I was troubled by the fact that Voldemort was totally clueless about the Deathly Hallows. I know he was orphaned, and would not have been read the fairy tale, but you'd think he'd have looked into anything that promised to overcome death - that was the whole purpose of the horcruxes.

I am so glad to see so many new faces here today - it's great!

Joyce, honey, we need to talk. Seriously.

[William Simon]

ramona said: "That leaves you and William alone in the wilderness."

Ramona-

"Story of my life...." DIE HARD 2: DIE HARDER, Bruce Willis, Dennis Franz, 20th Century Fox, 1990

(laughing aloud)

[bea]

Excellent discussion! It's fascinating to see all the ideas out there.

I see that in my first post, very early this morning (my defense), I referred to Lupin as Luna, thereby suggesting that Luna and Tonks had a baby boy--which, um, no. I think Rowling covered a million different topics, but gay marriage/parenting was not one of them

I knew what the "thing" was at King's Cross after a bit. I don't really understand, though, why it was referred to as almost shameful--or words to that effect. Anyway, I had seen the theory that Harry was a horcrux, and it made sense that Voldemort created a horcrux when he killed James and Lily. I seem to recall that Voldemort created that horcrux inadvertently--is that right? If that's right, does it make sense?

One critic has said that Harry can't be a hero, based on the critic's theory that Harry did not overcome a moral challenge. I think this misses the point--Harry lived a spartan and somewhat miserable existence, but he never became a bitter and sinister type (like Snape, for example). Harry is a hero to me not so much because he walked through the forest, willing to sacrifice himself, but because he overcame the more mundane, and distinctly unmagical, sorts of trials.

I hate to see the end of it all, but I am still not convinced that it's over. I don't think Harry's scar will ever burn again, but I think there are other stories to be told. And I hope Rowling tells them.

[SarahS]

So many great observations!

I, too, wanted D. Umbrage to get hers. Perhaps her carving into her own hand.

However, REVENG IS NOT JKR's way. Really. She's very good about that.

Also, Percy should have sacrificed himself. That made sense. Not Fred.

[SisterZip aka Pam]

I think that JKR left it open to the new Potter & Weasley generations. There are many stories to be had.

Can't wait for the encyclopedia.

[ramona]

William, I have no idea what you're talking about(only saw Die Hard, the original) but if you're laughing, I'm glad I had a hand in it.

Sarah, I had not picked up that Harry never killed anyone. I'm glad you pointed that out. Ditto on JKR not going the revenge route, although maybe a teensy bit with Molly vs. Bellatrix? However, I have to disagree with you on Percy. He redeemed himself, so to be killed for that...hmm? Too messy, maybe. Also, I think there had to be one character whose death was really surprising and painful. Fred fit the bill. I see the logic, and yet I feel the pain....

Whoever said, surely George named a kid Fred--thank you. I feel comforted. Let's just all pray it wasn't another set of twins.

[Julia Buckley]

By the way, here's my theory about why they met at King's Cross: it's not just that the Hogwarts Express was a sort of symbol of a journey, but because this was the last time these two KINGS would CROSS paths: Harry and Dumbledore.

[Jeanna Schilling]

I hated that Fred died, but frankly, I had been sure that BOTH twins would die, so I guess I wasn't surprised.

Dobby's burial was just a "kill me, kill me now," moment. OMG, it ripped my heart out.

I bawled like a baby from the moment Neville drew that sword out the hat. Started sobbing and laughing at the same time when Kreacher rallied the house elves. I really loved this book.

I think Teddy Lupin was a symbol of how Harry changed things. The "orphaned child" was a theme in the series. Tom Riddle was abandoned and unloved and grew up to be evil. Harry was orphaned, but his mother sacrificed herself to save him, so he was able to love, and that ability saved him and the world as we (well, they) know it. Then, even though his parents died, because of what Harry managed to do, Teddy was able to have a fairly normal childhood, surrounded by people who loved him.

[Julia Buckley]

And what did people think of the whole "descended from Ignotus, one of the three Peverell brothers" detail? I guess it explains how Harry happened to get that awesome invisibility cloak.

[alana]

Neville had the sword because (and you can check the second book for this) Only someone who is a true Gryffindor and shows true loyalty to Dumbledore can get the hat to come to them and be able to pull the sword from the hat no matter were it was to start with. Just before Neville pulls the sword out of the hat he yelled Dumbleddore's Army, which Harry, Ron, Hermione started in the kids fifth year at Hogwarts.

[Sheryl]

I thought it was great... I predicted before reading that Dumbledore would be alive... instead we got Aberforth. I predicted Snape would turn out to be good. I thought Ron might end up biting it in the end (or Hagrid) because it's usually the 'wing man' who gets it. I'm sincerely happy to be wrong about that. I predicted Harry and Ginny would end up together... and Ron and Hermoine (providing Ron survived.)

I'm not a big fan of Neville... but I loved his granny. She was cool. I really LOVED how everyone showed up at the end. And wow, what a scene that will be to film. Heh!

The next one (there will be another, you just know it, right?) could begin with Neville sending an urgent patronous urging Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermoine and Draco to come quick... it has to do with the children. (Shades of Back to the Future.)

It would be fun anyway...

[michele martinez]

Hi all -- I told you I'd be on as soon as I finished the book. I finished it late last night. Loved, loved, loved it. The best in the series by far.

The most brilliant achievements as far as I'm concerned: JK made me mourn hardest for a character I'd hated through the series -- Snape (or "Sev" as I now think of him!). How could I have been so blind? I was definitely in the camp convinced of his evil, black heart, and convinced that Dumbledore's only flaw was being too trusting of this despciable worm.

Which brings me to the second great achievement -- I think it was brilliant how she showed Dumbledore's feet of clay. She took an infallible character and made him human, in a series that ultimately, is about the triumph of humanity, and the humane, over magic. Harry wins -- and survives -- not because of his magical qualities but because of his human ones.

I disagree with those who felt the book dragged in the middle and had trouble with Ron's peevishness. To me, that was the greatest test of the series. The three of them, out there, hopeless, wracked from within, their great bond challenged by forces of dark magic (Voldemeort's soul in the shape of the locket). They had to go through that and overcome it in order to triumph in the end.

A few quibbles -- I thought it was weird and wrong to have Molly Weasley kill Bellatrix. Yeah, all right, I get that motherhood triumphed over evil, but that death should have been more satisfying and drawn out had greater resonance with the rest of the series. I also agree with whoever above wanted Dolores to get her comeuppance. But maybe all this is just JK telling us revenge is wrong.

Glad to know Harry and Ron are aurors and Hermione in the Ministry. I liked the romantic closure and the kiddies, and maybe this is my own career-mindedness, but my biggest thought when I put the book down is "Yeah, but what are they doing for a living???" And I really thought one of them (Hermione prefereably) should've neded up Headmaster of Hogwarts.

[Jeanna Schilling]

Yes, Michele! I really thought that's where Hermione would end up -- married to Ron and Headmaster of Hogwarts!

[Rebecca the Bookseller]

I always saw Hermoine as the Minister of Magic and Neville as Headmaster of Hogwarts. Don't ask me why.

Michele - I am so glad you liked it!

I am thinking about going back and starting the series all over again - but then I look at all the good books in my TBR pile...

[Liz Clifford]

Did you notice that Fred was the family member who forgave Percy and welcomed him back to the family? And he was killed by an explosion, not by an individual. We would have had bloodlust in our hearts if a particular person had gotten him.

The ending where all the previously mentioned characters reminded me so much of The Last Battle. So effective at wrapping up the remaining loose characters.

The other thing I thought interesting is that Rowling resisted the lure of bringing anyone but Harry back from the dead. It would have been so easy to bring Dumbledore back and say it was a ruse.

I thought for sure that Hagrid would die sacrificing himself for Harry. And my husband's theory was that Snape had done something after Harry's birth to make Dumbledore trust him - that he was the one who cast the powerful enchantment's over the Dursley's house to protect Harry.

[Liz Clifford]

And how are they getting the dementors back into Azkaban?

[Avis in NH]

Coming in late - finished the book at 3:30 this morning. Most of my comments have been made above, so I'll try not to be repetitive. (If anyone's still reading!)

I'm glad Harry (and we) had the chance to find out Dumbledore wasn't perfect AND the chance to realize he was still a hero anyway. We have a tendency to deify our heroes, and then revile them when they turn out to be merely human.

I believed going in that Snape was working on the side of good.

I truly believed Dumbledore was going to resurrect like a phoenix... I thought that's what the whole magical fire over his tomb was all about. As someone said, we did get his brother, though.

I started crying when Dudley asked wasn't Harry going with them (yay Dudley!). Then with Hedwig. And then Dobby. And so on.

I think Lupin died because he was a classic tragic character from the beginning. His lycanthropy had doomed him, essentially. I'm glad he had some happiness, some love, a child... but he was still dealing with ostracism, which had been extended to his wife, as well as his condition. It was so sad, but not shocking... in the same way that Sirius's death had been foreshadowed through that whole book (he wasn't happy, was restless, felt trapped, felt like he could no longer contribute) and how Dumbledore's death was foreshadowed through that whole book (he kept getting more and more tired and weak).

I too thought we might lose both Fred and George. Maybe by having only one twin die, Rowling thought it would cushion the blow a little - after all, we still have the other "identical" one. I suspect it's no comfort to someone who is a twin... and not much comfort to the rest of us. Very powerful death.

People mentioned how some people's deaths seem downplayed, especially at the end. I think Rowling was trying to show that's how it is in war, in battle. Life is fragile, its string can be snapped in a second, and that's it, it's over. When a lot of people die at once, each death can't get much "camera" time (especially when the viewpoint character is busy somewhere else), and the survivors don't have the luxury to mourn each one individually until afterward.

I wouldn't have minded a longer epilogue, but this was still satisfying for me. I'm glad to know they were able to go on to peaceful normal lives. And I agree it might have been a comforting ending for the younger readers... to know that after great horror, sorrow, and tragedy, that life can continue.

It was pointed out Harry hadn't actually killed anyone. I specifically noticed that in the final battle with Riddle (Harry did such a great job bringing Voldemort down to human size by using his real name!) that against the Avada Kedavra, Harry used Expelliamus. I started worrying when he used the Imperio and Crucio curses a couple times, but it was fine in the end. It was awesome in the end.

Finally, I was so happy that Harry was able to repair his wand!

[Rebecca the Bookseller]

I am amazed at the insight and depth of these comments, given the fact that the space is limited and we are not actually talking to eachother! It really has been a great discussion.

One of the things I found the most powerful about the books - like all great works, the themes resonate. We can apply them to our own lives, today.

Liz and Avis' points about death in battle, for example - it was just this week that we as a people at war were advised that due to the increase in the number of deaths, individual memorial services would no longer be possible. Heartbreaking.

Rowling's Epilogue, for all of its brevity and neatness, was such a gift - a message of hope - that dark times can be followed by peace.

[SusanCo]

These books have given me hope!!! For all the video games in the world have no power over people sitting down reading. No pinging , no ponging, just reading the printed word. The imaginations of all these people came alive!!!It sparked discussions,and even made some teenagers talk to their parents! Just think what could happen now? Everyone of them picking up more books, and reading! Sharing books with friends! Getting ideas themselves and WRITING BOOKS!!!! J.K. Rowlings whereever you are THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!!!!!!!!!!! SusanCo

[Doc in CA]

There is very little I can add to this discussion, as all of you have covered things pretty well. Still, if I may be allowed a prediction.

Despite anything she is saying now, I firmly believe that JK Rowling will indeed return to the Wizarding World for a new series of novels. Not this year or even this decade, but somewhere within the next 10 years.

Do I think Harry or anyone in the books will be in this new series? Nope. But return she will. She has created too fertile of a setting and too enormous of a fanbase not to.

[Neil Plakcy]

I wonder why the epilogue is set 19 years later. It seems like Rowling might be setting something new up with the next generation.

I mean, it would have been more symbolic if the epilogue happened when Harry's first child was going to Hogwarts-- not the second. So why pick that moment?

I also wonder if Teddy Lupin is a werewolf-- Lupin was worried about the trait being inherited.

And Julia, absolutely lovely comment from Harry to Teddy about being an orphan.

[peach]

I had to leave this discussion early Friday but I wanted to tell of my 98 year old cousin who finished DH on Tuesday after reading Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. He is a voracious reader who especially loves mysteries. Talked to him at a family reunion on Sunday afternoon.

[Mary]

I finished HP before my Hawaiian cruise, just returned yesterday, and even though there's much to do, I had to read these right away -- Great comments! I loved the book! A friend has been sending questions on how Dumbledore got an "unbeatable" wand. I have to follow the advice to re-read (or listen -- Jim Dale does such a great job!)
People were reading it everywhere on the cruise. Stock conversation opener, "How far are you?" One boy said only halfway, but he was reading slowly so he'd have something to read on the flight home. Of course, on that flight, they pretty much turn out all the lights and order you to sleep . . .and good thing, too. It's hard enough to function with the few hours of sleep one does catch in flight.
The St. Louis Post Dispatch had a great timeline
http://www.stltoday.com/mds/entertainment/html/287

[kayla]

I Love being a gilr!

[johanne]

OMG girls does anyone remember that part when teddy was SNOGGING voctoire!!!!! f-yea hawt!!!

[kayla]

I Love being a gilr!