This thread is for anyone who finished the book already and feels like chatting about it.
There will be spoilers in here, so if you don't want to know about plot points etc. please do not read any farther....


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That said, GREAT book! I cannot believe she managed to tie everything together in one final book. I will probably be rereading it because I think I may have cruised through it a bit fast.

I will say that I was a bit disappointed that pretty much all of the characters that were questionable turned out to be reasonably good. Kreacher even came around for pete's sake. Not that I'm complaining really but, she could have at least made the Malfoys completely bad.

[ 07-23-2007, 07:57 AM: Message edited by: NewbietoRPGs ]

I enjoyed it too. I'm actually glad that some characters were redeemed or were discovered to have been good in the case of Snape. Kreacher was hateful because everyone treated him like crap, when people are nice, so is he. Kind of makes sense huh. I think it continues the complexity that she's always had in terms of few people are completely good or evil, there's no pat answers to things, etc. For instance, I really liked the fact that Voldemort was ultimately defeated by kind of an oversight or loophole type thing, not because Harry is the most powerful wizard there ever was, or that Voldemort was a cliched bumbling crook. And the Malfoys weren't really good actually, it wasn't the typical, oh yeah, they have hearts of gold too, like so often is the case, it was more just when the crunch came, all they cared about was their son and weren't willing to sacrifice him.

There were a couple of things I was confused about, like one second Neville is on fire and immobile, and the next he's just not and kills the snake? What happened there? Although I have to say I liked the fact that the final castle scenes were kind of chaotic and a bit rushed almost - which it would have been for the characters too.

I liked that the dead characters like Dumbledore and Sirius stayed dead and there was no magical reprieve from them. I have to say I was expecting a bit more of a bloodbath - at least one of Ron or Hermione or something. And when I first finished the last chapter (which didn't end in scar, despite all reports to that effect :rolleyes: ), I thought it was all a bit neat with the next generation scampering about. But at the same time I was glad in my girly little heart that Harry didn't die - she managed to resolve everything in a way that wasn't cheap and yet wasn't the deus ex machina type thing (like Frodo and Sam being rescued off Mt Doom) that is never satisfying.

Aelia, I am sure when Neville kills Nagani it says "he broke the body-bind curse", or something to that effect.

I agree with your point about how the characters weren't evil or good. Dumbledore especially. I could always see Snape actually being good, and when Dumbledore said to Snape "Please, Severus" just before he died in book 6, he was pleading him to kill him, not to have mercy.

If I remember right, Harry told Voldemort that his curses didn't have the binding effect they should because he wasn't the rightful owner of the wand or something.

Two questions I did have about the ending though were: Did Harry ever go back and graduate from Hogwarts? What is he doing now? Auror?

Some scenes were downright miserable.
For example-how Neville managed to kill the snake? He charged at the snake and no one (!!!) did anything about it, not even the snake. It could have at least duck or something, let alone simply kill him.

I did not exactly understood why Malfoy's mother let Harry live, with her question-is Malfoy alive? What did she care about Harry? For all she knew Voldemort was still invincible, and Harry's death was optimal for her. At the very least she could have slit his throat to make sure that he is dead. But nooo, she does some unexplainable idiocy to the merriment of the author, instead of slitting his throat and searching for her precious son. No one was threatening Draco, so her behavior is simply inconsistent.

Escaping by the brooms...now this is really a masterpiece. Vernon was escaping by car, what was the problem of calling taxi, enchant the driver and be off?

One more thing. Half of the wizards were muggle born. Did not they hear about guns??? You can't duck a bullet (unlike curses). Instead of trading curses from five meter distance, put a slug in your opponents head and be over with it. Wizard's lack of basic muggle knowledge bordered in these seven books on idiocy. Muggle born (like Hermione) did not impress me with deep insights either.

I am disappointed with these books.

So my take on your points...

Neville killed the snake because Voldimort approached him in order to place the hat on his head... and since his burning spell didn't work (since Harry had sacrificed himself to protect them) Neville was able to take a swipe at the snake.

I think she was trying to show that the Malfoys had been beaten on by Voldimort enough that all they cared for at the end was each other. Not saying it's the strongest plot point but there it is... Draco didn't leave the school with the rest of his house so she was worried he might be dead.

Broom's are faster than a taxi, they couldn't disapperate because Harry couldn't use magic yet and they didn't want to wait until he turned 17 to leave. I think the whole decoy idea wasn't too bad, it's a technique that's used a lot when you're trying to protect a single person.

As far as guns and technology are concerned... she definitely didn't address why the magical world shunned advanced technologies. I don't see it as a major flaw in the series however because she really didn't involve muggles and muggle technology except at the periphery of the story. If she'd gone farther with the muggle/pureblood ware she may have had to address that issue (I'm assuming she'd dream up some sort of protection for magical folks from mundane weapons) but she didn't.

Overall I was impressed with the author, she managed to create a work that appeals to both children and adults, has a decent plot, charaters and a great setting... and manages to hold coherence through a LOT of books.

The coherence thing is a big one for me... with writers like Jordan who start out strong but after 3 or 4 books start to fall apart, I've started putting more emphasis on authors being able to hold it together and actaully FINISH a long series like this.

Brooms are faster and a lot unsafer than a taxi. Besides i have one more major flaw:

In the second book the ministry decided that harry threw the party cake even though dobby had done it.
In the 7 book they are worrying with harry spell casting, when it is clear that the ministry can check the house for magic usage, regardless (dobby). They all cast spells there, and then they are surprised by the ambush.
Again it is inconsistent.

Did they use spells in Harry's house? I thought they made a point to say that they couldn't. They used the polyjuice potion but I think that was it.

Re: Harry Potter 7 WITH SPOILERS!!
 

I've only now understood a certain passage in the books. In Snape's memories, when he and Dumbledore argue over why Harry gets to know certain things and he doesn't, it reads:

'But this is touching, Severus,' said Dumbledore seriously. 'Have you grown to care for the boy, after all?'
'For him?' shouted Snape. 'Expecto patronum'
From the tip of his wand burst the silver doe: she landed on the office floor, bounded across the office and soared out of the window. Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears.
'After all this time?'
'Always,' said Snape.

I never really understood what that was about, until I realised that it was the undying love that Snape had for Lily, that both Dumbledore implied and Snape acknowledged. I may be an idiot for not understanding, but I'm glad I got that sorted out.

Re: Harry Potter 7 WITH SPOILERS!!
 

I hadn't noticed that passage. I'll reread it now... thanks, Link :)

Re: Harry Potter 7 WITH SPOILERS!!
 

There really are a bunch of questions that were unanswered:
Did Arthur Wesley become Minister of Magic?
What happened to the Dudlys?
Where is Harry living with his family?
Where is Ron living with his family?
Who became Head Master of Hogwarts?
Does Hogwarts still have the same four houses?

Re: Harry Potter 7 WITH SPOILERS!!
 

The answer to the 4 houses question Arvon was in the book because harry's second boy was worried about being chosen for Slytherin instead of Gryffindor.

Re: Harry Potter 7 WITH SPOILERS!!
 

Yes but that speaks only of two of the houses.... From that we may imply all our were restored.

Re: Harry Potter 7 WITH SPOILERS!!
 

I don't think they needed restoring? Seemed like when Snape was headmaster it was all the same, then at the end Voldemort said he was going to make it all slytherin but then of course he died, putting a crimp in that plan. So nothing actually ever changed on the houses front?

Re: Harry Potter 7 WITH SPOILERS!!
 

Just quickly answering some questions... :D

I don't think Arthur was ever really a candidate for the Minister. :P I'd imagine Kingsley would be a better option.

I was wondering about the Dursleys too... Dudley really suprised me in this book, so I wanted to know more.

I imagine that Ron and Harry live somewhere close to each other. Probably near the other Weasleys. :)

After Voldemort's death McGonagall is still alive, so she is probably the Headmistress then. But Rowlings has said that in the Epilogue, she isn't Headmistress anymore. I imagine that it would be some other professor that's been at Hogwarts a long time... Flitwick maybe. :)

Hogwarts still has four Houses, as far as I can tell. I was really disappointed by this part of the book... Didn't the Sorting Hat once said that all the Houses would have to unite to defeat the enemy? (or something like that) And they didn't! The Slytherins were left out. That disappointed me so much. :(

About Harry's job... Rowlings said in an interview that both Harry and Ron became Aurors. Although she also mentioned the twins' joke shop when it came to Ron. :)

Re: Harry Potter 7 WITH SPOILERS!!
 

The Slytherins weren't left out, Malfoy played a crucial role. Uniting doesn't mean you have to sympathise with one another or actively know that what you're doing will eventually lead to the destruction of something evil (i.e. Voldemort).

Re: Harry Potter 7 WITH SPOILERS!!
 

Also both Snape and Slughorn were involved and they were both slytherin.

Re: Harry Potter 7 WITH SPOILERS!!
 

I think this link will work:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19959323/