Harry Potter Book 7 *SPOILERS*

[WaltD4Me]

Most of my questions have been answered from reading this thread. The one thing I couldn't figure out was when Snape died and there was a vapor that came from him and Hermione conjured a flask for Harry to capture the vapor. What was the significance of the vapor??? (Mind you everything above has has been paraphrased. Hopefully some of you know the part in the book to which I am referring.)

I know what you are referring to and the vapor was Snape's memories and he was telling Harry to take them. Remember in Half Blood Prince, Dumbledore was showing Harry memories in the pensieve about Tom Riddle's early life? Well, Snape was telling Harry to take his memories of his early life...Memories of Lily and what happened to make him loyal to Dumbledore.

 

[ivanova]

JKR has announced she'll "probably" write an encyclopedia of characters, covering their histories as well as what happened to them after Hogwarts (i.e. careers).

Also she intimated that McGonagal isn't HM by the time the "next generation" goes to Hogwarts (old age basically), that the jinx on the DADA job was lifted with Voldemort died, and that Dean Thomas apparently has an interesting history.

Don't expect the book any time soon though ... she wants (and needs) a well deserved break ... give it a few years.

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

I LOVED this book and I loved the whole series and I loved the movies! I freaking love Harry Potter! I was so happy with the book that I...um....did something I swore I'd never do. I got a tattoo today! I am still in shock that I did this! So for you HP fans, here's a picture of what I now have permanently stuck on my shin.

LOVE it! I have to admit, I've been tempted to get something HP related, too! I just can't figure out what yet!

Let's just hope that I never get drunk and end up with Snape tattooed on my butt.

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Next Harry Potter book news!

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/19935372/


Ohhhhh - I'M SO EXCITED!

Really - total HP nerd. And, I'm not ashamed to admit that the headline to this article I can totally relate to!

Article also mentions the character that got the reprieve - and I'm REALLY glad she changed her mind, it's a character I quite like.

We were all spot on on the two deaths that she didn't expect, by the way.

Just wanted to share - really, I am going to go take care of my family now.

Thanks for the link!

If I remember correctly, she does go into some of Dean's history on her website.

Did anyone else see the episode of the Colbert Report yesterday that started with him at his desk, nose burried in Harry Potter? I laughed harder at that than I have in a while!

 

[crzyred]

i finished reading the book! i'm a dork who stayed up till the wee hours to finish it when i have to go to work at 5 am....something must be wrong with me.

ok, mad that anyone who knew harry's parents are dead. I thought for sure Lupin would end up living. but since both Lupin and Tonks died, did Harry end up raising Teddy?

 

[Twingle]

I'm working on reading through this entire thread because I loooove seeing the different takes (and I desperately want to re-read the book but don't have the time right now!) ... but wanted to post this as I wasn't sure if anyone else has seen it!

Stop your sobbing! More Potter to come
J.K. Rowling tells TODAY she will write an 'encyclopedia' on characters

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 will sit 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 Thursday, July 26, and Friday, July 27, to see the interview.
By Jen Brown
TODAYShow.com contributor
Updated: 3:31 p.m. ET July 24, 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.

For the millions in the midst of the seven stages of mourning for the end of the Harry Potter era, take heart.

In her first tell-all interview since the release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” J.K. Rowling told TODAY’s Meredith Vieira she "probably will" publish a Potter encyclopedia, promising many more details about her beloved characters and the fate of the wizarding world beyond the few clues provided in the seventh book’s epilogue.“I suppose I have (started) because the raw material is all in my notes,” Rowling said.
Story continues below ↓advertisement

The encyclopedia would include back stories of characters she has already written but had to cut for the sake of narrative arc (“I've said before that Dean Thomas had a much more interesting history than ever appeared in the books”), as well as details about the characters who survive “Deathly Hallows,” characters who continue to live on in Rowling’s mind in a clearly defined magical world.

Hogwarts, for example, has a new headmaster (“McGonagall was really getting on a bit”), and Rowling said she can see Harry going back to give the "odd talk" on Defense Against the Dark Arts. That class, by the way, is now led by a permanent professor since Voldemort’s death broke the jinx which didn’t allow a teacher to remain in the position for more than a year.

Rowling offered up these details freely to Vieira and the 14 fans who asked her questions at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland on Tuesday. In fact, now that she is now longer burdened with guarding the secrets of book seven, Rowling seemed to delight in discussing her plot choices and clearing up the mysteries that have previously surrounded the books.

The character Rowling couldn’t bear to kill
One of the big stories that has been floating among fans for over a year is that one character gets a reprieve from death, while two others Rowling didn’t intend to kill end up dying in “Deathly Hallows.”

“Mr. Weasley, he was the person who got a reprieve,” Rowling said. “When I sketched out the books, Mr. Weasley was due to die in Book Five.”

Instead, another father dies in the end of Book Seven.

Though Rowling couldn’t bear to kill off Arthur Weasley, that didn't mean the other deaths in the book were easy to take. Given the blood bath that is “Deathly Hallows,” the writing of it was bound to be an emotional roller coaster.

But nothing in the entire process of the series was more difficult than writing the scene when Harry, accompanied by his deceased lost loved ones – including his parents James and Lily and his godfather Sirius — walks into the forest with the intent of sacrificing his life in the name of defeating Voldemort, Rowling said, adding it is her favorite passage in all seven books.

“I didn't cry as I was writing (that chapter), but when I finished writing, I had enormous explosion of emotion and I cried and cried and cried,” Rowling said.
Jen Brown / Todayshow.com

“That was partly because of the content — and partly because it had been planned for so long and been roughed out for so long. And to write the definitive version felt like a — a huge climax.”

“The Deathly Hallows” is the climax to the last 17 years of Rowling’s life, a time when she has gone from a single, divorced mother living on public assistance to a happily married mother of three and one richest women in the world.

It’s now time to sit back for a bit and enjoy the life that Harry has given her, Rowling said. And, when she’s ready, there’s always that encyclopedia waiting in the wings.

“I’m not going to do it tomorrow because I’d really like a break,” Rowling said, laughing. “So you may be waiting.”

TODAY will air the exclusive interview with J.K. Rowling on Thursday and Friday. Portions are scheduled to air Sunday on “Dateline NBC.”
© 2007 MSNBC Interactive

Thanks for quoting the whole article, I just posted the link! The part I bolded in the article I took to mean that she would fill in the gaps that were left between the last chapter and the epilogue.

And, speaking of the epilogue, I've heard rumors that she wrote it at the same time she wrote Sorcerer's/Philospher's Stone, and wanted it to stay like she wrote it, wouldn't let it be edited. I don't know if that's true or not, but it is similar to her earlier styles of writing.

Sorry if anyone else has mentioned this, I'm a few pages behind now.

 

[Allison]

ok, mad that anyone who knew harry's parents are dead. I thought for sure Lupin would end up living. but since both Lupin and Tonks died, did Harry end up raising Teddy?

I don't think so. The epilogue mentions him coming to their house for dinner a lot so I don't think he actually raised Teddy. My assumption was he lived with Tonks mom.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Did anyone else see the episode of the Colbert Report yesterday that started with him at his desk, nose burried in Harry Potter? I laughed harder at that than I have in a while!

Yes....

 

[Maleficent13]

A thought that occurred to me last night:

Remember the scene in HBP where Harry is stunned by Draco on the train and Tonks finds him? Tonks sends her Patronus to the school to alert Hagrid, but instead Snape sees it. He then tells Tonks her Patronus is "weak".

We find out later her Patronus is a wolf, for Lupin. How interesting that Snape's is a doe for Lily, and far from weak.

I dunno...just was interesting to me.

 

[MyGoofy26]

I don't know about anyone else, but I like the idea of an encyclopedia of characters better than a new book (or books)

I just don't see a new storyline - there isn't really anything left to "fight" so any conflict would look a little lame next to the past 7 books. And you can't exactly have people puttering around for 500 pages saying "life is good" just so we can find out what all they did for 19 years.

 

[Maleficent13]

Well, Voldemort will probably not be the last person who's going to want to try to take over the world.

 

[mickeyfan2]

I don't know about anyone else, but I like the idea of an encyclopedia of characters better than a new book (or books) .

ITA

I just don't see a new storyline - there isn't really anything left to "fight" so any conflict would look a little lame next to the past 7 books. And you can't exactly have people puttering around for 500 pages saying "life is good" just so we can find out what all they did for 19 years.

How about an entire book about camping.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I don't know about anyone else, but I like the idea of an encyclopedia of characters better than a new book (or books)

I just don't see a new storyline - there isn't really anything left to "fight" so any conflict would look a little lame next to the past 7 books. And you can't exactly have people puttering around for 500 pages saying "life is good" just so we can find out what all they did for 19 years.

I agree. I think when something is completed like that, it should be left untouched. I haven't read many "sequels" as far as books go, but one I did read was "Cosette," the sequel to "Les Miserables." It definatly paled in comparison to the original classic. I think any more Harry Potter books storylines will be pretty lame since everything that fit together in the first seven are concluded. I do want the encyclopdia though.

I had another thought about the encyclopedia though. Say it comes out, and then someone buys it who is reading the books for the first time, and it is truly an encyclopedia, and the reader, (who is say reading all the books in order for the first time, no idea what's going to happen, and is only on Prisoner of Azkaban,) looks up Weasley, Fred, and the def is; plays practical joke, twin brother George, etc, etc, Dies in Deathly Hallows.

Isn't there a risk that an encyclopdia could give information away to first-time readers?

 

[mickeyfan2]

I had another thought about the encyclopedia though. Say it comes out, and then someone buys it who is reading the books for the first time, and it is truly an encyclopedia, and the reader, (who is say reading all the books in order for the first time, no idea what's going to happen, and is only on Prisoner of Azkaban,) looks up Weasley, Fred, and the def is; plays practical joke, twin brother George, etc, etc, Dies in Deathly Hallows.

Isn't there a risk that an encyclopdia could give information away to first-time readers?

No. Since the person would have to live in a vacuum to not know about what happens in other books. They may have seen the movies and know this too.

I have seen movies and then read the book. It did not ruin it for me. The movie was the catalyst for me to read the book and the book.

I know a 6 year old girl who saw OOTP, so she knows about the prophacy. She has not read one of the books. When she is older she might want to read them and already knows about what happens in book 5.

 

[MyGoofy26]

Isn't there a risk that an encyclopdia could give information away to first-time readers?

No more than someone who sees the movies before reading the books, or someone who reads the books out of order. I don't think you can protect people from "spoilers" very long - a first time reader just need to take the initiative to avoid the encyclopedia until they're finished if it's that important to them. And I don't think it'll be a referential encyclopedia. . . just stories about the history and future of individual characters without any real narrative.

I'd be willing to bet that it won't be out until after the movies are finished, so there won't be many new readers who aren't at least moderately aware of the stories in the books.

 

[MyGoofy26]

ITA


How about an entire book about camping.

Well. . . Rowling was halfway there . . .

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Thanks for the article....I am going to miss Harry and the gang.

 

[wendy46001]

Well, Voldemort will probably not be the last person who's going to want to try to take over the world.

True, but i wouldn’t mind reading his original rise to power...she could get a good three books out of a prequel

How about an entire book about camping.

 

[WaltD4Me]

I wouldn't mind the encylopedia at all and would definitely buy it, but I'm hoping one day JKR might do a prequel. I know it's cliche and very Star Wars, but I'd love to read about the Mauraders. James, Sirius, Remus...even Peter Pettigrew. Their time at Hogwarts and then what led up to James and Lily in Grodric's Hollow that awful night.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I wouldn't mind the encylopedia at all and would definitely buy it, but I'm hoping one day JKR might do a prequel. I know it's cliche and very Star Wars, but I'd love to read about the Mauraders. James, Sirius, Remus...even Peter Pettigrew. Their time at Hogwarts and then what led up to James and Lily in Grodric's Hollow that awful night.

Oh yea...there is a whole series right there.

Look at "Wicked"....someone WILL come along and do the prequel.