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Harry Potter, book 7 (you better believe spoilers)

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gimli_axe_wielder
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Posted: Wed 25 Jul , 2007 8:39 pm
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wow... that is almost as bad as lidless' one liners.. Congrats! :cheers: :damnfunny:

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TheMary
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Posted: Wed 25 Jul , 2007 9:12 pm
I took the stars from my eyes, and then I made a map, And knew that somehow I could find my way back; Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too - So I stayed in the darkness with you
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Oh Snap(e)!

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Crucifer
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Posted: Wed 25 Jul , 2007 9:29 pm
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I have a very short friend to whom I say that all the time.






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Leoba
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Posted: Thu 26 Jul , 2007 8:03 am
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I took days to finish the Deathly Hallows because Din and I were reading in tandem. One copy between the two of us; I had it on the train and he’s had it at home. We managed to both finish yesterday evening. At least now it's all over, gone is the risk of puerile work colleagues spoiling the ending just for a laugh! I mentioned Harry Potter the other day to one of the girls in my team and then had to endure a good half an hour of people throwing pretend spoilers about. That is what I hate about a book that’s so popular on release; you never got anyone doing that with the De Vinci Code!

I thought it was a more enjoyable romp of a read than the previous 2 books and one I had to actually force myself to put down. I had a fair few niggles with it, not least the postscript/final chapter which was just plain naff. However, I know that when I was about 11 I loved having a 'what they did next' bit at the end and that that one would have satisfied, so maybe it works better for the target audience?

I think I'd have maybe felt more satisfied with the ending if Harry had died or at least seemed something other than fit and bouncy. Am I callous? How could one just get on and have this idyllic 'ordinary' future after going through what he went though? Besides which, wasn't part of his soul within Voldemort, from the blood he took, and so wouldn't that leave Harry somehow lacking?

I felt rather immune to all the death - two per chapter seemed over kill, if you'll pardon the pun - and there were a few leaps that just seemed too perfect such as the sword in the pond and Ron turning up at just the right moment. But I am being picky! I do love this series and I did have a few tears in my eyes in those final chapters as everything started to unravel - it was the point when Harry went off to do his self sacrifice, but as I was on the train at the time I couldn’t start sobbing my little heart out. And I couldn't help but feel my heart give a leap (and a giggle) at the choice of spell Harry used in the final battle. ;)

At some point in the near future I suppose I shall have to re-read the lot in order.

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Berhael
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Posted: Fri 27 Jul , 2007 8:07 am
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I'm re-reading Deathly Hollows and being quite surprised at the Arthurian elements: A sword that can only be wielded by the deserving... a quasi-Grail hunt (the Hallows)... and last but not least, the fact that Ginny's full name is Ginevra! :Q

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Iavas_Saar
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Posted: Fri 27 Jul , 2007 11:35 pm
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Well I finally finished. I have gradually grown to like the series, going from "meh" reading the first book to eagerly awaiting the last. The midnight opening was fun, then I had to wait a couple of days for Eru to finish.

I'm pretty sad it's over. The "happy ending" was not that happy for me. Both because it was the end of it all and because it gave no hint of the sadness which would undoubtably have lasted their whole lives (Poor Fred, and how would George ever have got on with his life?). I can't work out the epilogue.. did Rowling intend it to be "and they lived happily ever after"? If so I don't think that's right.. and I couldn't engage with the new characters suddenly flung at us. I would rather have left off in the original time period, with the ending presenting a SIGN of the more peaceful times to come.

Really I have very few problems though. I was captivated. It should make a wonderful movie.

A couple of the deaths were perhaps a little cruel - Hedwig and Fred.

A couple of things have me confused though:

- Dumbledore told Harry that he survived Voldemorts killing curse because he had accepted his own death. Can someone explain this? How were those things connected?

- Who sent the giants and centaurs that turned the tide after Voldermort returned to Hogwarts with Harry's body? (I probably just missed this)

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MaidenOfTheShieldarm
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Posted: Sat 28 Jul , 2007 2:27 pm
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I finished last night, having forced myself to make this last book last as long as I could. I liked it for the most part, but there are definitely qualms. This is going to be even more rambly than I usually am, so I apologize for that.

This is going to seem pure fangirlism and maybe it is, but I was deeply dissapointed that Sirius never came back. I love Sirius -- definitely my favourite character other than Dumbledore and only slightly more than the twins so I wanted him to come back because of that but also because of how she killed him. The man fell behind a curtain. Okay, fine, he falls into whatever is behind that curtain and can't come back. But what is it? She creates what could have been this really nifty thing and then we never get any sort of hint or explanation about what that curtain or that room was. (I really was convinced that he was coming back though and it makes me awfully sad that he didn't. Talk about a waste of a good character. He didn't even get a good death. :( )

Speaking of dead people, I did love Dumbledore's return even if it was a bit angsty. Other than that, the whole chapter in King's Cross was just right and easily one of my favourite parts of the book.

The other deaths though -- Mad-eye, okay. Fred and Lupin and Tonks and Dobby were awfully sad (especially Fred -- too bad Lupin died off stage), but somehow Snape's death felt the most tragic of any of them. He was hated and reviled for his whole life and then he was actually working harder than anyone to protect Harry and he still was the outcast and he died before anyone knew it. And then, he didn't even die for a cause really. Maybe I just have an overdeveloped sense of tragedy, but that seems awful to me.

Honestly, except for Fred his was the only death that really affected me. I know what she was going for killing off all those people but it didn't work because we never had to read about life without them. As someone (Leoba?) was saying above, how must that have affected George? That whole epilogue just did not work. Are you really trying to tell me that Harry lived happily ever after with no PTSD? That he was unscarred and just went on with his life with Ginny? It felt like the perfect fifties family idea -- too good to be true. And what about Neville? It was great when he killed Nagini, but talk about another waste of a good opportunity. She had that whole thing in OOTP about how the boy could have been Harry or Neville and then never did anything with it.

Finally, there was awful lot that felt contrived and I'll stick to the biggest example which is Harry's defeat of Voldemort. That whole scene where Harry's walking into the forest was wonderful, especially when Lupin and Tonks and his parents and Sirius (finally! but all too briefly) came to welcome him to death. And then he came back (in a very Gandalfish manner I might add) (J. K. Rowling = "Just Kidding" Rowling?). I could have accepted that, although the reasoning was hard to follow. She had to make Harry the final Horcrux, but it seems like then she was a bit too desperate to not have to kill him so she found every possible bit of magic that might save him -- the wands and the blood and everything. It seemed a bit tenuous. I would rather have had him die.

All right, so the things I did like. Dumbledore's reappearance, as I said. Potterwatch was brilliant and I'm sorry she didn't have it on more. I loved Fred's (or was it George's?) bit about if it has legs, it's safe to look at it. The visit to Godric's Hollow was great, especially the graveyard. I thought that scene was awfully well written and I do like the way she throws things in by the way that later come to be very important, like the whole Peverell connection. Going back to that final battle, I would like to take a moment to express my love for Mrs. Weasley. Her duel with Bellatrix was absolutely brilliant. I had a grin on my face for the next few paragraphs after Bellatrix finally died. It would have been awfully nice if it could have been Neville but even so. NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH was terrific. :D Speaking of Neville, how much do I love his gran? So, so much. I am very sad that we didn't get more of her in the series but loved her cameos in this book.

I guess that's all for now. I really did enjoy the book and it was only the last few chapters that really bugged me. I am sad that it's over. It feels weird to be done and know that there's no more.

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Riverthalos
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Posted: Sat 28 Jul , 2007 10:46 pm
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Snape's death was by far and away the most wrenching of all the deaths Rowling's written in the series. Even more senseless than Sirius's (which left me numb), and all the more tragic because of the choices Snape made. I had a longtime, gnawing feeling that Snape was Harry's most powerful ally, and yet Snape and Harry hated each other until the end because Snape never told Harry the truth. I must say though, the whole losing side of a love triangle thing makes it much easier to understand why Snape and James Potter never got along, and why Snape never had an easy relationship with Harry. Schoolyard jealousies people can get over. Losing the love of your life to a great rival and then, to make up for a betrayal, having to babysit the product of the union...yeah. That's not so nice.

Oddly enough, I came away wishing we'd gotten to know Regulus a bit better. I moistened up a bit when Kreacher told Regulus's story. It was a bitter irony, that the brother who was a Death Eater was the one who was kindest to the house elf, so kind he won Kreacher's undying loyalty, so kind he sacrificed himself so Kreacher could go home with the locket. He was another case of courage and remorse. So was Dumbledore. So was Percy in a way. And you could sorta make that argument for Narcissa Malfoy. Man, Rowling really liked that blend, didn't she?
Iavas_Saar wrote:
- Dumbledore told Harry that he survived Voldemorts killing curse because he had accepted his own death. Can someone explain this? How were those things connected?

- Who sent the giants and centaurs that turned the tide after Voldermort returned to Hogwarts with Harry's body? (I probably just missed this)
I'm not entirely sure where the giants came from, but the centaurs appeared after Hagrid showed one of them (I think it was Bane) Harry's "dead" body and asked him if he was happy now while Voldemort was making his would-be march of triumph back to Hogwarts. I felt so horrible for Hagrid. The dramatic irony was almost too much to bear.

As for Harry's survival, I think the deal there was this. Harry only surrendered himself because he was Horcrux #7 and it was only by allowing himself, and the piece of Voldemort that lay within him, to be killed that he could ensure Voldemort's eventual destruction. And it worked. Avada Kedavra killed the Horcrux. But it didn't kill Harry becuase, I guess, when it comes to laying your life down, your intentions matter. If Harry had been unwilling, or been surrendering for some other reason, I'm willing to bet that both the Horcrux and Harry himself would have been destroyed. As it was, Harry got to go back, and leave the shriveled thing that's part of Voldemort's soul behind. I admit it doens't make a lot of sense, but Rowling neatly gets around that by making Dumbledore, the great explainer, about as confused as everyone else.

The epilogue was weak, yes. I think it's just there to make us all understand that it's over. The story's been told. No sequels. Life goes on. Ron and Hermione finally faced up to the inevitable and tied the knot. Harry marries into a large and loving family. I'm sure everyone involved still has problems both large and small. I have no doubt that George will never be the same again. I have no doubt being an orphan did Ted Lupin no favors, even though he still has a grandmother and I'm sure the whole Trio, plus Ginny and Draco, have had to wrestle with PTSD. Neville too no doubt, but after the war, are those really compelling stories to tell?

Still, it would be kinda nice to know if, once it was all over, Harry ever had any kind of relationship with Dudley. It looked like Dudley was really starting to warm to his cousin.

Fan fiction anyone? :devil: I know I deserve to burn in a deep pit in hell for that, but I couldn't resist...

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Lord_Morningstar
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Posted: Sat 28 Jul , 2007 11:02 pm
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MaidenoftheShieldArm wrote:
She had that whole thing in OOTP about how the boy could have been Harry or Neville and then never did anything with it.
It was basically a device to illustrate the importance of choice, as well as Lord V’s hypocrisy in believing that a half-blood could be more powerful than a pure-blood. Harry is the one that prophecy speaks of because Lord V ‘marked him as his equal’. As of October 31, 1981, the prophecy could not have applied to Neville. I think this was more or less wrapped up in OotP.
Iavas wrote:
- Dumbledore told Harry that he survived Voldemorts killing curse because he had accepted his own death. Can someone explain this? How were those things connected?
It is more significant, I think, that Lord V has used Harry’s blood to re-generate (explaining the ‘look of triumph’ on Dumbeldore’s face in GoF). I’d need to re-read the relevant chapters to figure out how it all works, though.
Iavas wrote:
- Who sent the giants and centaurs that turned the tide after Voldermort returned to Hogwarts with Harry's body? (I probably just missed this)
The giants (with the exception of Grawp) were all fighting for Lord V IIRC. The centaurs came of their own accord, as River explained.

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Dindraug
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Posted: Sun 29 Jul , 2007 1:32 pm
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Finally finished tis week, and looking forward to reading it again in a couple of weeks when the hype is over.

It was a much better read than the previous couple, you can tell that JKR did get some editorial advice this time and follow it.

A few things still bug though. The amount of deaths, and the way they were done was galling. The Lupin/Tonks death was like waiting for an ice sculpture to melt. It was so obviously pointed out, then blink and its over (well not mentioned at all really) and you have two bodies. Just a bit of an anti-climax. She did better with Fred, and Snape, but things like the Dobby death. They were just Dues ex machina with no real purpose but to up the body count by killing people (and owls) we had grown up with for ten years, but with no real feeling.

The other issue was the rapid wrap up of everything. I can't think of a major plot line from the series than is not neatly wrapped up. Ok so we don't know what happened to the death eaters who survived or if the dementors go back to Azkaban, but its a safe assumption.

I think it was that epilogue that really burnt me out though. Everything is too neatly and tidily wrapped up. Ron and Hermione a couple (really not well handled) and settleing back into family life, Harry and Ginny, Neville is doing well, even Draco married (who though?), and it is all there for HP the next generation. I am not sure she will, the use of the date finally given really does mean that the whole HP plot is set historically. And lets face it, she has done the biggest plot she can whilst remaining in the wizarding world.

Overall, really liked the book, but I think there was too much need to wrap everything up and make it black and white tragic, I would have liked some grey as well.

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gimli_axe_wielder
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Posted: Tue 31 Jul , 2007 12:10 am
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CNN has a story on it's site right now about an online chat Rowling did the other day with fans in which she answered questions about what happened to the characters but wasn't mentioned in the epilogue. She essentially briefly told what the main characters all did for the rest of their lives, even though she didn't write it in the final book.


Here is the main part of it:

SPOILER ALERT: Those who do not wish to know what happens to the characters after the book ends should stop reading here.

Rowling said the world was a sunnier, happier place after the seventh book and the death of Voldemort.

Harry Potter, who always voiced a desire to become an Auror, or someone who fights dark wizards, was named head of the Auror Department under the new wizarding government headed by his friend and ally, Kingsley Shacklebolt.

His wife, Ginny Weasley, stuck with her athletic career, playing for the Holyhead Harpies, the all-female Quidditch team. Eventually, Ginny left the team to raise their three children -- James, Albus and Lily -- while writing as the senior Quidditch correspondent for the wizarding newspaper, the Daily Prophet.

Harry's best friend Ron Weasley joined his brother, George, as a partner at their successful joke shop, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Hermione Granger, Ron's wife and the third person of the series' dark wizard fighting trio, furthered the rights of subjugated creatures, such as house elves, in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures before joining the magical law enforcement squad. The couple had two children -- Rose and Hugo.

Luna Lovegood, Harry's airily distracted friend with a love for imaginary animals who joins the fight against Voldemort in the Order of the Phoenix, becomes a famous wizarding naturalist who eventually marries the grandson of Newt Scamander, author of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."

And what Muggle, or non-wizard, song would have been played at the funeral of Albus Dumbledore, the most brilliant and talented wizard the world had ever known?

"Surely 'I Did It My Way' by Frank Sinatra," Rowling told her fans, referring to the song "My Way," written by Paul Anka but popularized by Sinatra, among other singers.
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As the chat wrapped up, Rowling thanked readers for their loyalty to the series.

"What can I say? Thank you so much for sticking with me, and with Harry, for so long. You have made this an incredible journey for Harry's author."

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Nienor SharkAttack
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Posted: Tue 31 Jul , 2007 12:02 pm
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Being head of the Auror Department must have been a much less interesting job with Voldemort gone. :P

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Posted: Tue 31 Jul , 2007 12:27 pm
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Well, there would still have been plenty of Malfoys and Lestranges around!

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The OG Borry
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Posted: Tue 31 Jul , 2007 12:32 pm
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Dont know so much about Malfoys :P
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Riverthalos
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Posted: Tue 31 Jul , 2007 11:39 pm
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My big question is did the jinx on the DADA teaching job die with Voldemort? It would have been really cute if she'd mentioned it.

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Posted: Wed 01 Aug , 2007 8:41 am
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She did, and it did. :)

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The OG Borry
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Posted: Wed 01 Aug , 2007 10:12 am
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Anybody got a link to the full text of the interview?
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Dave_LF
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Posted: Fri 03 Aug , 2007 4:45 pm
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The OG Borry
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Posted: Fri 03 Aug , 2007 5:12 pm
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Thanks Dave :)
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Nienor SharkAttack
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