Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

[Gambit]

Is it weird that I am excited for all of you Pottheads, even though I'm not one yet?

Join us....

 

[Gambit]

I think it's the experience of it...standing in line with a ton of fans, people dressing up, etc. Some people get a kick out of that.

Me...I wanted it delivered so I didn't have to do SQUAT

Ditto, but there was a horrifying moment when I thought I wasn't going to get it...

 

[Gambit]

just finished the book

Spoiler

awesome book.

just amazing.

Spoiler

I'm just sad that it's over. I usually root for the bad guys, but this is once I'm glad there was a happy ending (albeit bittersweet, with the deaths of so many familiar faces).

 

[Mike Olbinski]

Amazing finish...I had tears in my eyes for the final chapters...

Just a fitting, glorious, wonderful, nail-biting finish to a great, great story...

 

[D-Dogg]

Spoiler

Great book...great series. Harry's return was spectacular...loved that. Tonks and Lupin though...wow, that was tough. Yay for the house elves coming in at the end too...I wanted that to happen so S.P.E.W. was worthwhile in the end (plus it got Ron a kiss).

Snape's reveal in the Pensieve was great; it was not surprising at all to me, that's the way I thought it went down anyway as I was never in the "snape is evil" camp and felt he loved Lily. IN fact, when the silver doe came out with the sword, I was pretty sure that was from Snape.

The backstory on Dumbledore was great...finding he had his own demons filled his character out.

Also getting to know aberforth was good. Mrs. Weasly calling Bellatrix a bitch was awesome too.

Oh, and Dobby Rescue from Mansion Malfoy was awesome too...I thought Bellabitch was going to kill Hermione.

Snape saying not to say the word "mudblood" was awesome.

Harry having a child named Albus Severus Potter is just awesome too.

Oh, and snatching the locket from Umbridge was classic.

Great book...can't wait to hear Jim Dale read it now.

 

[D-Dogg]

:notworthy JK

Trying to reflect on this world she created...I can't take it all in. Unreal.

And I'm now a bit sad there will be no more. Two movies to look forward to though!

 

[Mike Olbinski]

Spoiler

Great book...great series. Harry's return was spectacular...loved that. Tonks and Lupin though...wow, that was tough. Yay for the house elves coming in at the end too...I wanted that to happen so S.P.E.W. was worthwhile in the end (plus it got Ron a kiss).

Snape's reveal in the Pensieve was great; it was not surprising at all to me, that's the way I thought it went down anyway as I was never in the "snape is evil" camp and felt he loved Lily. IN fact, when the silver doe came out with the sword, I was pretty sure that was from Snape.

The backstory on Dumbledore was great...finding he had his own demons filled his character out.

Also getting to know aberforth was good. Mrs. Weasly calling Bellatrix a bitch was awesome too.

Oh, and Dobby Rescue from Mansion Malfoy was awesome too...I thought Bellabitch was going to kill Hermione.

Snape saying not to say the word "mudblood" was awesome.

Harry having a child named Albus Severus Potter is just awesome too.

Oh, and snatching the locket from Umbridge was classic.

Great book...can't wait to hear Jim Dale read it now.

Spoiler

Yup, I was waiting the entire book for Snape's redemption.

The final scene was indeed great, spectacular...

 

[D-Dogg]

Spoiler

Yup, I was waiting the entire book for Snape's redemption.

The final scene was indeed great, spectacular...

Me too, although for a time there I thought I was wrong....she held it out for awhile.

 

[Mike Olbinski]

Me too, although for a time there I thought I was wrong....she held it out for awhile.

Spoiler

Yeah, I thought the same thing. Especially when Snape did what he did at the beginning, and then ran out of Hogwarts...I didnt think they'd wait until the very end.

Obviously, he saw the snake in the shield and realized now was the time to tell Potter...but they didn't expect the part about the wand and it was lucky that Harry was around to get the memory.

I just loved the entire thing. The running, hiding, etc. There were GREAT nail-biter scenes...like when they are locked in the basement and rush out to save Hermoine...

My only problem I had was with myself. I felt like it had been so long since the last book (and no time to read the last one again) that I missed things I should have known about.

Do you think the things she had in the book, even the Ravenclaw tiara, or the Journal of Riddle...were meant to be Horcruxes from t he beginning?

Did she have it all planned out? Or was she just sensational and tying things together she used before?

 

[Gambit]

Spoiler

Yeah, I thought the same thing. Especially when Snape did what he did at the beginning, and then ran out of Hogwarts...I didnt think they'd wait until the very end.

Obviously, he saw the snake in the shield and realized now was the time to tell Potter...but they didn't expect the part about the wand and it was lucky that Harry was around to get the memory.

I just loved the entire thing. The running, hiding, etc. There were GREAT nail-biter scenes...like when they are locked in the basement and rush out to save Hermoine...

My only problem I had was with myself. I felt like it had been so long since the last book (and no time to read the last one again) that I missed things I should have known about.

Do you think the things she had in the book, even the Ravenclaw tiara, or the Journal of Riddle...were meant to be Horcruxes from t he beginning?

Did she have it all planned out? Or was she just sensational and tying things together she used before?

Spoiler

I think she had some idea about how it went, but as with all true great plans, she did a lot of winging it. And what a job improvising!

 

[Evil Ash]

Spoiler

I think she had some idea about how it went, but as with all true great plans, she did a lot of winging it. And what a job improvising!

Supposedly after writing the first book, she wrote the last chapter of the series. So she had some idea where she was going but some of it she improvized.

 

[Nasser22]

Just finished...great book. Can't believe it's all over.

 

[D-Dogg]

Spoiler

Yeah, I thought the same thing. Especially when Snape did what he did at the beginning, and then ran out of Hogwarts...I didnt think they'd wait until the very end.

Obviously, he saw the snake in the shield and realized now was the time to tell Potter...but they didn't expect the part about the wand and it was lucky that Harry was around to get the memory.

I just loved the entire thing. The running, hiding, etc. There were GREAT nail-biter scenes...like when they are locked in the basement and rush out to save Hermoine...

My only problem I had was with myself. I felt like it had been so long since the last book (and no time to read the last one again) that I missed things I should have known about.

Do you think the things she had in the book, even the Ravenclaw tiara, or the Journal of Riddle...were meant to be Horcruxes from t he beginning?

Did she have it all planned out? Or was she just sensational and tying things together she used before?

Spoiler

She had it planned out, for the most part...so the introductions of the horcruxes were planned from jump. But she did do some winging it and mentioned she had painted herself into a corner a couple of times and had to improvise some things.

I just finished reading the 6th book right before this one, (and actually had just finished the 5th book too) so all of it was really fresh in my head. That helped a lot.

I thought the same about Snape's memory...it came close to not being seen. The drama of the whole book was as you say, nailbiting. Gut wrenching.

The movie of this one should be pretty spectacular too, what with all the spellcasting and such.

The Battle of Hogwarts...awesome. Neville is awesome. I just love all these characters and my girl made it through safely!!

 

[Dback Jon]

Spoiler

Finished it tonight - awesome is all I will say right now!!

 

[D-Dogg]

Spoiler

And Snape looking into Harry's eyes as he died...looking into Lily's eyes. "Look..at...me..."

Very sad.

 

[Nasser22]

So anyway, now to tell my short tale. I went to Borders at around 10:30 to check out the crowd and wait till midnight. Oh man....there were tonsa nerds there. And you know the sad part? I felt like I fit in. But yeah...these were nerdy people that couldn't spell, I woulda whipped them all in that spelling bee. They missed such easy words. All throughout the night I was careful, watching out for people who would spoil it for me, but they didn't come. =D> But then I had to wait in line for an hour and a half for the book. It sucked...I was so tired...then I went home and read till 3:30. Yay!

 

[arthurracoon]

Spoiler

The movie of this one should be pretty spectacular too, what with all the spellcasting and such.

Spoiler

I hope so.

I was dissapointed that they didnt have the dumbledore-voldemort dialogue in the 5th movie fight.

hopefully they dont cut out much of the dialogue from the battle of hogwarts onwards in the movie - especially him talking to dumbledore at kings cross, him talking to the dead when he was heading to his own death, and the final harry-voldemort scene

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Well done. ::applause::

It took me about 7 hours to read. Well worth it.

 

[Nasser22]

Spoiler

Anyone else find Snape's obsession with Lily more creepy than anything? I still liked hearing that he really was on Dumbledore's side, but that part did bug me.

Also glad neither Harry, Ginny, Hermione nor Ron died. I was so sure at least two of them would.

Sad to see Lupin go. He was one of my favorite characters, but there needed to be some death in this book.

Oh yeah and, Kingsley is a beast! It was pretty funny in the movie though how they had him dressed up in full Kwanza gear.

 

[D-Dogg]

Spoiler

Anyone else find Snape's obsession with Lily more creepy than anything? I still liked hearing that he really was on Dumbledore's side, but that part did bug me.

Spoiler

"Never underestimate the power of obsessive love"....Professor Slughorn.

 

[Mulli]

to all you spoiler posters. I am only on page 40.

 

[D-Dogg]

Things that didn't take place or I felt were missing:

Spoiler

JK said something about "someone coming into magic later in life" and this wasn't resolved.

What was behind that door at the ministry?

What did Dudders see when the dementors came?

What did James and Lilly do for a living? For that matter, what do the Potters and Weasleys in the epilouge do? Harry become an auror? I wondered if he might have become a teacher at Hogwartz (DADA). No closure there.

Holey George...what of him?

Draco marry Pansy?

Is the DADA position still cursed, or did that die with Volderiddle?

How did Lilly and James (and the Longbottoms as well) thrice defeat Voldemort (according to the prophecy?)

 

[D-Dogg]

to all you spoiler posters. I am only on page 40.

We've been VERY good....almost every single post has been under spoiler tags. It's your fault if you click on 'em.

 

[abomb]

I am a little behind in the series, but I couldnt believe when

Spoiler

All those owls kept bringing letters to Harry's uncle's house!

 

[D-Dogg]

So, there is a bit of a debate about something in the book that alludes to a very, very mature theme:

Spoiler

The question is out there as to whether JK is alluding that Dumbledore's sister Ariana was raped by the three older Muggle boys, while others say "no, these are books that kids read, she'd never do that..."

I think it IS her intention to allude to a rape, but just as she writes things like "made an obscene gesture" or "cursed under his breath" she lets the reader fill in what that is.

She is clever at this, because it allows younger people to read/listen to the books and create their own ideas of what happens when a person "curses" (darn?) while older people can understand broader context.

And, as a father of 3 from 0-7 I can tell you straight away that the ONLY thing I would ever get thrown in jail for would be the murder of someone who molested/raped/kidnapped/killed my children. If they got jumped and beat up terribly, that's one thing and I'd get the police involved, but the line is crossed at sexual assault and there is no coming back.

I think JK most definitely intended people to assume she was raped and traumatized by the muggles...without saying it directly, she provided enough context clues for this father to understand and feel for the Elder Dumbledore and to understand...and also show that Albus understood too.

To younger children they can take away that "something very bad happened..the muggles hurt her very badly." To older people, we know what that something is.

What do you guys think about that scene? It isn't said directly, but the feel, the reaction of Harry and Hermione and the circumstances lead me, at least, to feel she was suggesting that she was raped, sending DD's dad into a rage and earning him a life stint in Azkaban.