Harry Potter (split, finally!)

[Deadplant]

Hmm, my sister was telling me that someone 'crazy people' thought that Harry was a Horcrux. That was an amusing memory after I finished the book.
However, Dumbledore's history almost made me cry.

When Fred and Dobby died, I was all, "WHAAAAAAT?!" T_T
When Kreacher urges all the house elves in Hogwarts to attack, they all start biting the Death Eaters... beautiful. I'm sure gonna miss rushing down to the shop to buy the latest in the series...

[Fiddelysquat]

Here are my lengthy thoughts on the book. I got home from Otakon at 10 and read the book nonstop until 6am when I finished it:

INCREDIBLE.

I loved this book. Loved it. I know a lot of people are dissapointed, but I thought it was beautiful, triumphant, and deliciously bittersweet.

AND I SO WIN THE THEORY GAME! I've been telling my Harry Potter nerd friends for YEARS that Snape was in love with Lily! Why else would Voldemort seek to spare her? Why else was that scene in OotP his worst memory? They picked on him loads of times: it was because it was the moment Lily turned her back on him. Victory dance!

Some parts of the book made me cry so hard I had to put it down. Here they are, so you can see how soft this series turned me:

-Dobby's death and burial: This is why I really do love Harry's character, although many are critical of him. He dug. He didn't use magic. Dobby's selflessness and love for Harry truly broke my heart. That's been one of the book's most touching and inspiring themes: show kindness and love to others even if they aren't your equals. If Harry were a different type of person and he never bothered to befriend Dobby, where would he be? So many people that seemed to be "losers", like Neville and Luna, turned out to be some of his most valuable friends. What a wonderful concept to impart to people.

-THE MURAL IN LUNA'S ROOM! Who else was deeply touched by this? I was so moved and choked up. Luna is tied with Neville and Snape as my favorite side character, and it just moved me. I love how perceptive and loving and open she is. For all her dottiness, she's very wise. I'm so happy with her involvement in this book.

-Severus. Oh my God, Severus. I was a complete mess all throughout the Pensieve scene. It truly broke my heart. He was so lonely and poor and unpopular and wasn't good looking at all, and his heart's deepest desire was to be with Lily, the girl he could never have. And when he looked into Harry's eyes, taking his last comfort in the one feature of Lily's he possessed... What a hero. Unlike Harry, he didn't have any friends or support on his side. He lived a life of thankless heroism for the sake of the one woman he loved. I had this feeling it was him when the doe lead them to the sword... I really broke down when he tucked that last bit of Lily's letter into his pocket.

-Percy coming back and Fred dying. That meant so much that he came back and I'm so glad it happened. It truly broke my heart to see that merely moments after Fred and Percy, who never got along, were finally understanding eachother, Fred died. Fred was always my favorite of the twins, and I just loved him to death. The part where she mentions George holding his head... It really ripped my heart out.

-LUPINANDTONKS. Oh my God. That came as such a blow. And after seeing pictures of their baby, too... I'm glad Harry told Remus off and sent him scurrying back home. My heart went out to Andromeda. She lost so much, but at least she had Teddy.

-Colin Creevy. Don't laugh, but that stung so badly. He always hero worshipped Harry and even though he knew it could mean death and he was underaged, he stayed behind to fight. I think he did it because he knew it's what Harry would have done. That one sentence, how is body looked so small in death... Wow. It shows you how much Harry's bravery has inspired others. Which leads me to...

-DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY! Seeing all of them in the Room of Requirement, brave and defiant in the face of torture, was so inspiring. I'll talk about Neville later as that was one of my absolute favorite aspects of the book, but it was so wonderful to see how they fought. They truly rose to the occasion. I was so proud. Especially of Ginny and the others who wrote the defiant messages on the walls and how they refused to torture others. They did as the Sorting Hat asked: those houses united to stand against Voldemort.

-Ron hearing Hermione being tortured, how he was sobbing and pounding on the walls to try and save her. No explanation needed as to why that choked me up.


Okay, on to some other stuff I loved:

Neville. First and foremost, Neville. I have always loved him to bits and to see how he truly came into his own... He took up as the leader in Harry's absence. He was so brave. The cuts on his face, defying Voldemort right to his face, how proud his Gran was of him... A true Gryffindor. Neville is another shining example of why the true measure of a person comes from how they treat their "inferiors", not their equals. When Harry told Neville he was worth twelve of Malfoy and gave him that chocolate, I think that really sealed the deal. Neville was so wonderful, and I'm so glad to see that he became a teacher. I'd always guessed it'd be him.

So who else was overjoyed at Molly killing Bellatrix? My mother told me that she cried hardest at that part because she knew exactly what Molly felt and it was just so triumphant. Molly lost her brothers and one of her sons to Death Eaters, and she rose up to protect her daughter.

WeddingLOL? Viktor's line about all the good looking ones being taken was hilarious. I love how Harry made up that carp about Ginny having a huge boyfriend and how Ron was criticizing Viktor's beard... Hee hee. That Auntie Muriel was a real bit of work, too. But holy cow, was I laughing.

Was I the only one making mental connections to the Holocaust all throughout mentions of the Muggleborn registry, proving your ancestry, and that prison camp thing in Bulgaria? "For the greater good"... Scary a slogan as any, and a deep and somewhat disturbing insight into Albus's character. So much harm has been caused for what people think will be the greater good. How appropriate. Voldemort's hypocrisy concerning the pureblood thing reminded me of Hitler's hypocrisy. After all, Hilter did take great pains to destroy his birth records in Austria, and he was no blonde with blue eyes.

My head is swimming with thoughts and stuff and I can't possibly get them all out now. I'll be back posting more as I have time to digest what I've read. My dad has his grip on the book now and I won't be seeing hide nor hair of it for a while.

All in all, my favorite so far!

[Ange]

Was I the only one making mental connections to the Holocaust all throughout mentions of the Muggleborn registry, proving your ancestry, and that prison camp thing in Bulgaria? "For the greater good"... Scary a slogan as any, and a deep and somewhat disturbing insight into Albus's character. So much harm has been caused for what people think will be the greater good. How appropriate. Voldemort's hypocrisy concerning the pureblood thing reminded me of Hitler's hypocrisy. After all, Hilter did take great pains to destroy his birth records in Austria, and he was no blonde with blue eyes.

Yeah, I noticed that too. The parallels were pretty striking...I'd be surprised if it wasn't at least a little bit intentional. I also really appreciated the look into Albus's semi-dark past.

[Katherine]

Just 1 thing first, I think she said 2 more main charecters than she planed where going to die.

I think the book was AWSOME, and do you know the thing that made me the saddest,
No more HP books. That and Dobby's grave and death. But all in all, great book!

[Fiddelysquat]

I think that the books contain themes and ideas that I'd be happy to pass along to my own children someday. In the distant future, when there are little Fiddlets running around, I'll be sure to have them read the books.

[jellyoflight]

Just 1 thing first, I think she said 2 more main charecters than she planed where going to die.

I think the book was AWSOME, and do you know the thing that made me the saddest,
No more HP books. That and Dobby's grave and death. But all in all, great book!

Fiddlets with no Squattums? What is coming to this world.

What was the page number where Lupin & Tonks died? (if anybody wouldn't mind, heh...) I have read and read and read, but the only mention of it I can find is where they put all the dead in one place. I keep missing it and it is making me FRUSTRATED.

[Byakuya San]

-THE MURAL IN LUNA'S ROOM! Who else was deeply touched by this? I was so moved and choked up. Luna is tied with Neville and Snape as my favorite side character, and it just moved me. I love how perceptive and loving and open she is. For all her dottiness, she's very wise. I'm so happy with her involvement in this book.

I knew I was forgetting something! I too was moved by this, now there are no doubts in my mind that Luna is my favorite character. Also, I was slightly surprised to learn that my mom, who usually isn't one for foul language, LOVED Molly's killing of Bellatrix. although it was awesome...

[benladesh]

17 hours nonestop. I'm a slow reader but i like to have the events unfold in my mind. Anyways

Epic story, The parts in the tent seemed to drag sometimes but nothing too bad. The way that Snape told Harry was great. Giving him the memories. It was much more personal and the emotion was transfitted with much more force. The fact that snape loved Lily had been predicted but that he wanted to protect Harry and cared for him wasn't. How he was faithful to the end amazes me. It was well wrapped up.

The epilogue was the biggest load of crap I have ever read. What was she thinking? No luna, no explainations. Just parents and kids in a perfect world. I was expecting more, I turned the page and was like "Am I missing a page or is this the end?".

Also throughout the book they talk about fairytales and how they have morals for little children, then at the end Harry turns down the wand and the ring. Umm moral for little children right there.

I liked how the language was more mature. Effing was used a lot which really is normal for teenagers and Rons mom used the B word but not in the same sense as used in the previous books. When I read that, all capitalized, I started laughing. xD It was a realistic reaction but I wasn't expecting it. I was expecting Harry to try to save Ginny

Overall an amazing and epic book. The fact that snape was so important really made a good twist and that it was because of love, once again, from every angle, that voldy died was great.

Theres so much more i want to say. Fidds really sums it up though

[Smart Duck]

It was epic. Completely Epic.

[Robin]

Just 1 thing first, I think she said 2 more main charecters than she planed where going to die.

I think the book was AWSOME, and do you know the thing that made me the saddest,
No more HP books. That and Dobby's grave and death. But all in all, great book!

Fiddlets with no Squattums? What is coming to this world.

What was the page number where Lupin & Tonks died? (if anybody wouldn't mind, heh...) I have read and read and read, but the only mention of it I can find is where they put all the dead in one place. I keep missing it and it is making me FRUSTRATED.

Uhm...Lupin came out of the ring with James, Lily, and Sirius. As far as Tonks, I have no bleeding idea.

[MarchingDuck]

I think that the books contain themes and ideas that I'd be happy to pass along to my own children someday. In the distant future, when there are little Fiddlets running around, I'll be sure to have them read the books.

I agree Fids. As I mentioned in my post, the HP books have taught me alot about myself, and I hope someday to pass the books and lessons in self discovery onto my kids.

[Keakealani]

Fidd, you really said all I wanted to say and more. When I read your post, I started tearing up just a little bit remember all those really moving moments in the book.

I think one of the other things that really touched me was Kreacher's change of heart - it's now obvious why JKR had advised the movie producers to keep him in, because he was really valuable to the plot and it changed my opinion about the Black family, especially Regulus.

Also, Potterwatch was f'ing awesome! I just had to say, that was a really clever way of feeding the trio outside news and it was a nice comic relief to an otherwise very heavy plot.

[Christopher]

Another question. Considering that House elf magic is just so much better than Wizard magic when they actually use it...why do the Hogwarts elves merely attack the ankles of the Death Eaters rather than shoot them with Dobby Lightning?

[CWisgood]

Just 1 thing first, I think she said 2 more main charecters than she planed where going to die.

I think the book was AWSOME, and do you know the thing that made me the saddest,
No more HP books. That and Dobby's grave and death. But all in all, great book!

Fiddlets with no Squattums? What is coming to this world.

What was the page number where Lupin & Tonks died? (if anybody wouldn't mind, heh...) I have read and read and read, but the only mention of it I can find is where they put all the dead in one place. I keep missing it and it is making me FRUSTRATED.

Uhm...Lupin came out of the ring with James, Lily, and Sirius. As far as Tonks, I have no bleeding idea.

I'm pretty sure the part where Harry finds their bodies is the part we learn that they died.

Another question. Considering that House elf magic is just so much better than Wizard magic when they actually use it...why do the Hogwarts elves merely attack the ankles of the Death Eaters rather than shoot them with Dobby Lightning?

Because they wouldn't look as cute if they did Dobby Lightning? I think I love Kreacher now.

And BTW, I bet JKR stole that epilogue from a fanfic writer online. It's the only explanation.

[Jenna!]

Am I the only one...

that thinks they're in love with Snape now? Haha.