Spoiler I never expected Harry to cast the spell that killed Voldemort, but in this ending...it was Harry's wand that killed Voldemort.
Spoiler When Severus asked Harry to look at him just before dying was pretty emotional. He wanted to see Lily's eyes one last time. /turns in man card.
Ok, I'm not going to bother with spoiler tags. If you've made it to page 3, you're pushing your luck!! Well, I thought it was good. I was saddest to see Dobby go for some reason, with his little funeral. All the characters I *really* cared about ended up being fine. I wasn't *quite* satisfied with the way Snape was wrapped up; I enjoyed his "memories" and I would have never guessed that he sent the doe, but I'd rather he'd had the chance to talk to Harry face to face about it all. But the twists they gave to Dumbledore's character were good, and he did have the chance to explain himself. The epilogue, I thought, was pretty uneventful, but it sure did put a bow on things. "AND THEY ALL LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER!" Which is fine; this IS kid-lit. Oh, and to the haters-- get back to me when you've read War and Peace and the Karamozov Brothers. How'd you like the Aeneid? I'm an English major and I don't defend my reading habits to anybody. Suck it. Suck it long, suck it hard. Yeah, these stories are for kids, and I used to poo-poo them too. But then I realized, "Star Wars" was for kids, and I loved it. If you're avoiding this series, that's all you're doing: missing out on this new generation's Star Wars. Do what you want, but I ain't ****in' apologizing 'cause my bookshelf consists of more than "A Rocket at Heart," "Living the Dream," and "The Punch." (Yes, they are included, though. )
MSNBC Wild about Harry Finished ‘Potter’? Rowling tells what happens next Exclusive: Author gives details on events after the book’s final epilogue TODAY exclusive AP In her only television interview after the highly anticipated release of the seventh and final installment in the Harry Potter series, author J.K. Rowling sat down with NBC's Meredith Vieira in Edinburgh, Scotland, to discuss the conclusion of her series for the first time. Tune in to TODAY on Friday, July 27, to see more of the interview. By Jen Brown TODAYShow.com contributor Updated: 6:38 a.m. CT July 26, 2007 Spoiler alert: This story reveals some key plot points in the final Harry Potter book. So if you've haven't finished the book, J.K. Rowling asks that you not read this story. If you found the epilogue of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” rather vague, then J.K. Rowling achieved her goal. The author was shooting for “nebulous,” something “poetic.” She wanted the readers to feel as if they were looking at Platform 9¾ through the mist, unable to make out exactly who was there and who was not. “I do, of course, have that information for you, should you require it,” she told TODAY’s Meredith Vieira rather coyly in her first interview since fans got their hands on the final book. Ummm … yes, please! Rowling said her original epilogue was “a lot more detailed,” including the name of every child born to the Weasley clan in the past 19 years. (Victoire, who was snogging Teddy — Lupin and Tonks’ son — is Bill and Fleur’s eldest.) “But it didn’t work very well as a piece of writing,” Rowling said. “It felt very much that I had crowbarred in every bit of information I could … In a novel you have to resist the urge to tell everything.” But now that the seventh and final novel is in the hands of her adoring public, Rowling no longer has to hold back any information about Harry Potter from her fans. And when 14 fans crowded around her in Edinburgh Castle in Scotland earlier this week as part of TODAY’s interview, Rowling was more than willing to share her thoughts about what Harry and his friends are up to now. Harry, Ron and Hermione We know that Harry marries Ginny and has three kids, essentially, as Rowling explains, creating the family and the peace and calm he never had as a child. As for his occupation, Harry, along with Ron, is working at the Auror Department at the Ministry of Magic. After all these years, Harry is now the department head. “Harry and Ron utterly revolutionized the Auror Department,” Rowling said. “They are now the experts. It doesn’t matter how old they are or what else they’ve done.” Meanwhile, Hermione, Ron’s wife, is “pretty high up” in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, despite laughing at the idea of becoming a lawyer in “Deathly Hallows.” “I would imagine that her brainpower and her knowledge of how the Dark Arts operate would really give her a sound grounding,” Rowling said. Harry, Ron and Hermione don’t join the same Ministry of Magic they had been at odds with for years; they revolutionize it and the ministry evolves into a “really good place to be.” “They made a new world,” Rowling said. The wizarding naturalist Luna Lovegood, the eccentric Ravenclaw who was fascinated with Crumple-Horned Snorkacks and Umgubular Slashkilters, continues to march to the beat of her own drum. “I think that Luna is now traveling the world looking for various mad creatures,” Rowling said. “She’s a naturalist, whatever the wizarding equivalent of that is.” Luna comes to see the truth about her father, eventually acknowledging there are some creatures that don’t exist. “But I do think that she’s so open-minded and just an incredible person that she probably would be uncovering things that no one’s ever seen before,” Rowling said. Luna and Neville Longbottom? It’s possible Luna has also found love with another member of the D.A. When she was first asked about the possibility of Luna hooking up with Neville Longbottom several years ago, Rowling’s response was “Definitely not.” But as time passed and she watched her characters mature, Rowling started to “feel a bit of a pull” between the unlikely pair. Ultimately, Rowling left the question of their relationship open at the end of the book because doing otherwise “felt too neat.” Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom: “The damage is done.” There is no chance, however, that Neville’s parents, who were tortured into madness by Bellatrix Lestrange, ever left St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies. “I know people really wanted some hope for that, and I can quite see why because, in a way, what happens to Neville’s parents is even worse than what happened to Harry’s parents,” Rowling said. “The damage that is done, in some cases with very dark magic, is done permanently.” Rowling said Neville finds happiness in his grandmother’s acceptance of him as a gifted wizard and as the new herbology professor at Hogwarts. The fate of Hogwarts Nineteen years after the Battle of Hogwarts, the school for witchcraft and wizardry is led by an entirely new headmaster (“McGonagall was really getting on a bit”) as well as a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. That position is now as safe as the other teaching posts at Hogwarts, since Voldemort’s death broke the jinx that kept a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor from remaining for more than a year. While Rowling didn’t clarify whether Harry, Ron and Hermione ever return to school to finish their seventh year, she did say she could see Harry popping up every now and again to give the “odd talk” on Defense Against the Dark Arts. More details to come? Rowling said she may eventually reveal more details in a Harry Potter encyclopedia, but even then, it will never be enough to satisfy the most ardent of her fans. “I’m dealing with a level of obsession in some of my fans that will not rest until they know the middle names of Harry’s great-great-grandparents,” she said. Not that she’s discouraging the Potter devotion! “I love it,” she said. “I’m all for that.”
My thoughts: Spoiler Very dark, rather depressing at points, but overall, a good ending. It ties together lots of plots nicely. It's been a few years since I've read the series, so I can't critique it completely, but it seemed to all come together nicely. I knew when Lupin made Harry the godfather of Teddy that both Lupin and Tonks would die and that Harry would survive. I also suspected that at least one Weasly would die. My money was on a twin, followed by Ginny, followed by Percy. The Malfoys went out like chumps. Neville was a rockstar. I also felt in my gut the entire book that Snape was still a 'good' guy. Not that it was bad that he died. He was a jerk. The whole 'Dumbledore is bad' thread was a little tiresome, and it showed in the end that he wasn't. I liked the epilogue...leaving the door open for another series about the next generation. I'd like to see Rowling write an adult book to see what she can really do.
amen brutha! I will not turn in any card for enjoying this series, there is little enough good storytelling out there for me to turnup my nose just cause it started out as a kid's series I enjoyed it, need to re-read the sixth one and then re-read this one to keep the plot flow consistent.
First, I'm man enough to read all the Potter books and not feel like I have to prove myself to any losers here, especially those who prefer soccer to real football. I enjoyed the book... finished last night. Most of the stuff has already been touched on... I really thought Neville would be the one that kills Tom, but he did do away with the last horcrux... and only a true Gryffiindor could pull that out of the hat. I was disappointed that Neville was the Herbology Prof... it's like he regressed in a way, though I guess with challenge done, there would be no reason not to go back to your comfort zone. Still, I would have liked to see him as the DADA teacher or the Head guy at Hogwarts. And he and Luna would make a good couple. This was better then the last book, which I thought was a bit forced and redundant and not what I was expecting after 5. I think in some ways she cornered herself by saying only 7 books. Anyway, based on the book's ending and the interviews she's given, I don't expect Rowling to write any more Potter books. Although... 1 Deathly Hallow is just laying there...
I finished the book last week. I wasn't overly suprised by anything, but I did expect someone more important to die, like Ron or Hermione. She also should have made the epilogue longer. I would love to know what everyone is doing for a living. Did Harry become an Auror? The only thing we know is that Neville is a teacher and none of the other main characters are. Good book overall, but the Half-Blood Prince is my favorite of the books.
I finished the book last week, and I thought it was the best of the series, IMO. I literally could not put the book down for the last 150 pages, it was that good. The epilogue could have been longer, the whole Elder Wand thing was confusing, and the amount of death was rather excessive, but really, that's just me being nitpicky. Can't wait to see the battle of Hogwarts on the big screen.
I forgot to add what I thought was a ring of untruth in the writing, or perhaps it just signifies that the story was written by a woman... Harry and Hermione, two 17 yos under stress spending many nights alone in a tent and they don't hook up at all? Not even in a "Here Hermione, let me comfort you" way? And Harry lays on Ron the line about Hermione being a "sister?" Any 17 yo guy I knew or know, even under stressful circumstances, would have sought out the comforts of a cute little witch. And most cute witches would succumb to the "boy who lived" under those circumstances as well... even if only to do the things normal 17 yos do for a one time fling. Anyway, carry on.
I thought it was the 3rd best book in the series after 4 and 3. Glad Dobby died, he was like JarJar Binks to me. I would have liked to know more about Dumbledore's Army being led by Neville and Ginny during the final year at Hogwarts....who knows maybe the author will pull a Ender's Shadow in a few years and tell that story. I agree with RimRocker about the bizarre lack of sexual tension for 17 year olds. Jeez when I was 17 all I thought about was girls 24-7. I read it at the same time as The Kite Runner.... a nice change in pace bc KR is a serious bummer. Finished them both yesterday.
Good stuff. Have no idea why the haters are on this thread. Charlie Weasley did show up at the very end.
