Harry Potter Book 7 *SPOILERS*

[Sthronds]

Neville "pulled" it out of the sorting hat the same way Harry had way back in Chamber of Secrets. Only a true Gryffindor can get the sword from the hat. Neville used it to kill Nagini - the last Horcrux.

Thanks, I had to go re-read. I totally missed that.

 

[MareQ]

About the "Always" thing... after Dumbledore asked if he has grown to care for the boy, Snape says, "For him?" and then shows Dumbledore his patronum, which is a silver doe. Do we know what Lily's patronum was? James' was a stag. Could hers have been a doe? We know patronums can be changed because Tonks' patronum changed. Could he have changed his patronum to Lily's and he was letting Dumbledore know he was totally doing everything out of love for Lily by showing him that? I'm not really a Harry Potter scholar, but I thought maybe the doe went with the stag. What do you think?

Lily's patronus was a doe.

 

[JenM]

I found the EW magazine at the grocery store, but it doesn't have the article about Daniel Radcliffe. I'd bet it would be a bit hard to find, as plenty of people who don't usually buy it will for the Harry Potter stuff.

I got it in the mail yesterday--I think they went to press before they could get all the stars' reactions to the book, so they just updated it online.

I heard JK say during the Today show interview that he did ask her if Harry died, and all she would tell him was, "You get a death scene." I also remembered him saying at the OotP premiere that every time he asked her about Book 7, she would give a "terribly cryptic answer!" so I don't think he believed Harry was just going to die.

That was great to hear his reaction! I know Emma Watson had said she'd been stressed about Book 7 ever since a hacker claimed to download a copy of the book and claimed that Hermione died. I'll bet she's relieved!!

 

[Deb in IA]

Snape's love for Lily would have undoubtedly had an affect upon his feelings for Harry. Clearly, Snape loathed James and Snape saw in Harry many of those same qualities that he despised in James. However, as has been said so many times throughout the books, Harry had Lily's eyes. Snape could not have overlooked this. Snape genuinely cared for Harry if for no other reason than Harry was a part of Lily.

I agree with the bolded part. I also remember a part when Dumbledore agrues with Snape, that although Harry looks like his dad, he not only has his mother's eyes, but his heart is much more like Lily's.

I think that anyone who could love Lily so deeply and completely, as Snape did, long after she was gone, could have cared for the only part of Lily that still lived on . . . Harry.

 

[What the Heck]

It's the sword. He used it in Chamber of Secrets and now both him and Neville will need it in the last movie.

I thought the part was from the movie for book 5? That would mean it wasn't the sword, but it would have been the mirror from Sirius (the one that Alberford got).

 

[annakris1973]

I think the thing that is still bothering me, falls back on what Daniel Radcliffe said in the interview..."It doesn't leave you". Talking about the book. Some of us, including me, have been dreaming about the book, or HP in general. Why do you think the book has had such a profound effect on everyone? I don't think it's just the death toll. Although I was sad with some of the deaths, I wasn't nearly as emotional as I was when Sirius and Dumbledore died. Is it because there wasn't really closure? Sure, the "19 years later" thing was great, but I think we as readers needed to see the immediate after affects of the war, and go through the grieving process with the characters. I would have like to seen a chapter between the last one and the epilogue that showed most of the main characters grieving, coping, and moving on. I guess that is what the epilogue was meant for, it just didn't help me.

BTW....I dreamed Harry and Ginny were at Snape's funeral and buried him in Godric's Hollow next to Lilly.

 

[zweihund]

I think the thing that is still bothering me, falls back on what Daniel Radcliffe said in the interview..."It doesn't leave you". Talking about the book. Some of us, including me, have been dreaming about the book, or HP in general. Why do you think the book has had such a profound effect on everyone? I don't think it's just the death toll. Although I was sad with some of the deaths, I wasn't nearly as emotional as I was when Sirius and Dumbledore died. Is it because there wasn't really closure? Sure, the "19 years later" thing was great, but I think we as readers needed to see the immediate after affects of the war, and go through the grieving process with the characters. I would have like to seen a chapter between the last one and the epilogue that showed most of the main characters grieving, coping, and moving on. I guess that is what the epilogue was meant for, it just didn't help me.

BTW....I dreamed Harry and Ginny were at Snape's funeral and buried him in Godric's Hollow next to Lilly.

That's awesome.

I totally agree with the chapter-between-the-chapter thing. The only thing that really bugged me about the book was the total change in mood in that last chapter. I was still trying to get my head around Snape, which had me in tears, and suddenly everyone was all smiles.

I have a few friends who think that Harry Potter is ridiculous children's literature and an abomination to the snobbish writer's world. But to them I say, what other book has ever created such a phenomenon where people wait in line at midnight, and feverishly read through for the next 24-48 hours with barely a break for food and sleep (IF they can sleep)? For that, JK is my hero.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

To me there is a definite lack of closure in the book which leaves me feeling very unsettled. All the other books have a final closing scene -- a farewell banquet, a funeral, a trip on the train where they all promise to keep in touch and make plans for the next year. In this one, Harry heads off to bed and wishes for a sandwich.

The epilogue doesn't even begin to cover all the questions that exist concerning how the differing people cope and recover and move on with their lives.

Harry being Harry, it actually made me a little sad to think that the next 19 years of his life were boring.

BTW....I dreamed Harry and Ginny were at Snape's funeral and buried him in Godric's Hollow next to Lilly.

Over James' dead body I would imagine.

Don't feel too bad, I was taking a bath and all the sudden I found myself pondering whether or not Harry ever managed to get that foul portrait of Mrs. Black removed from the front hall of Grimmauld Place.

In a way, JK Rowling has really done a terrible thing to us.

 

[JunieJay]

I'm late to the party, we were out of town and did not have internet access. My thoughts.

The Snape storyline was amazing, pure perfection. His end was sudden and brutal, but it worked well. I suppose the thing that made Snape such an interesting character was that he was so conflicted, and it all came out in his relationship with Harry - torturing him in school, but pledging to save his life at the same time. I don't think Snape's dislike for Harry was ever diminished, he just did it all for Lily.

Dumbledore, posthumously, turned out to be a much more ruthless, flawed, manipulative and complicated character than I ever imagined and JKR thoroughly debunked the whole saintly twinkly image he's had for the last six books. Personally I loved this unexpected development, I look forward to re-reading the series with this new twist on the character in my head.

Where was Ginny? I was REALLY disappointed here. She has been set up in the past two books to be a butt-kicking character, but in DH she didn't really DO anything! Ginny's been around from the get-go, she's the girl Harry loves, everyone in the previous books talked about what a powerful witch she was, and she doesn't do much of anything, except snog Harry and get pissed off, once again, that her parents are overprotective and she has to be left behind. Seriously, if there was anything that actually sucked about the book, I'd say Ginny's second-class status was it.

I was also disappointed by Lupin and Tonks deaths. Could not even ONE Marauder have had a happy ending? Geez, was this group given a raw deal or what??? But even worse was the one lousy sentence relating their deaths after the fact--surely Remus Lupin, once a Hogwarts teacher and a friend to Harry and, oh, you know, the LAST REMAINING CONNECTION HARRY HAD TO HIS PARENTS, deserved better than that.

I am sick over Fred's death, even though I had a feeling it was coming (I assumed George would go with him). I'm glad he was at Percy's side. And I don't know that I'll ever get over Dobby's death....such a touching and sad part of the story. And Hedwig. So sad. Although I was a little disappointed she died helpless in a cage, I would have expected a different end for such a noble character.

Ahh, what else. Loved the return of old characters like Lee Jordan and Dean Thomas and Oliver Wood. Loved Luna's house and her paintings. Loved Neville got his moment to shine. I also really liked Dudley's moment of humanity when the Dursleys finally left for good. Didn't see that one coming at all...I knew there was more to Dudley but that was not what I expected.

I liked the epilogue but wanted more details...nice to know everyone ended up happy and married with kids, but what are they all doing for a living? It should have been about 10 pages longer....

All in all, I was very satisfied with the book, but so very sad that its over. Its almost like a death in a way, my whole family feels the same way...we all are sort of in mourning around here.....

Looking forward to reading through this thread and reading everyone's thoughts......

 

[JenM]

I liked the last chapter. I heard a critic say he didn't want to read that Harry had become a "soccer mom," and I think he missed the point entirely.

Knowing the stories and the characters so well, we were all talking about what must have happened, and what good things about their lives we've taken from the epilogue:

-Harry never had to spend another minute at the Dursleys, and if he ran into Dudley after they came out of hiding, we know they may have been civil to each other. We know Petunia sent a vase to Lily for Christmas one year, maybe Dudley and Harry kept up some sort of contact (probably not).

-The Weasleys lost one child, but gained (at least) 6 grandchildren, who I can imagine Mrs. Weasley doting over at every chance. I can also picture Mr. Weasley's delight at Ron marrying into a Muggle family, or what Auntie Muriel must have been like at both Ron and Ginny's weddings.

-Teddy was orphaned, but was never forced into hiding and raised by a grandmother who never made him sleep in a broom cupboard. Harry also got to be the godfather that Sirius had never been able to be for him.

-We know from JK's interview that Harry and Ron went on to become Aurors, and restructured the Ministry. Considering that they'd been powerless against Voldemort's forces twice, their defenses were probably built much stronger with the help of the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army. I can also imagine a reformed Percy, having watched his own brother die at the hands of Death Eaters, playing an important role in the new Ministry.

-We also know that Hermione became involved in law enforcement, and probably helped put a stop to discrimination against Muggle-borns. Considering the last one enforcing the laws on the subject was Umbridge, things had to have become better with Hermione's help. She probably also curbed what ended up in the Daily Prophet and made Rita Skeeter finally register as an Animagus. I can imagine she also improved relations with house-elves and goblins as well.

-We know that Hogwarts was rebuilt, and that everyone probably played a big role in the reconstruction, and that Hagrid is still more than likely bringing dangerous creatures to class.

-We know that Malfoy's family lost a lot of their status, and that their pureblood dreams never came true, and he grudgingly spends his life knowing his life was saved by the people he hated.

We know that in 19 years, there were dinners being crashed by Teddy Lupin, weddings, family and kids and good times Harry never thought he'd ever have when he started out an ignored and unloved little boy in book 1. Finally, all was well.

 

[JunieJay]

I-We know from JK's interview that Harry and Ron went on to become Aurors, and restructured the Ministry. Considering that they'd been powerless against Voldemort's forces twice, their defenses were probably built much stronger with the help of the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army. I can also imagine a reformed Percy, having watched his own brother die at the hands of Death Eaters, playing an important role in the new Ministry.

-We also know that Hermione became involved in law enforcement, and probably helped put a stop to discrimination against Muggle-borns. Considering the last one enforcing the laws on the subject was Umbridge, things had to have become better with Hermione's help. She probably also curbed what ended up in the Daily Prophet and made Rita Skeeter finally register as an Animagus. I can imagine she also improved relations with house-elves and goblins as well.

-We know that Hogwarts was rebuilt, and that everyone probably played a big role in the reconstruction, and that Hagrid is still more than likely bringing dangerous creatures to class.

-We know that Malfoy's family lost a lot of their status, and that their pureblood dreams never came true, and he grudgingly spends his life knowing his life was saved by the people he hated.

We know that in 19 years, there were dinners being crashed by Teddy Lupin, weddings, family and kids and good times Harry never thought he'd ever have when he started out an ignored and unloved little boy in book 1. Finally, all was well.

We do know this? Geez, I guess I better get reading...haven't read any reviews of the book or interviews, this is the first time I've been online since I bought the book on the 21st.......Can you point me to the JKR interview where she reveals these endings?

 

[JenM]

We do know this? Geez, I guess I better get reading...haven't read any reviews of the book or interviews, this is the first time I've been online since I bought the book on the 21st.......Can you point me to the JKR interview where she reveals these endings?

She was on the Today show this week, talking about how Ron and Harry became Aurors, and how Hermione went to work in the law department at the new Ministry of Magic.

The rest I just put together myself. I like how she leaves it open that way.

 

[hello kitty]

Here you go JunieJay.

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

 

[JunieJay]

She was on the Today show this week, talking about how Ron and Harry became Aurors, and how Hermione went to work in the law department at the new Ministry of Magic.

The rest I just put together myself. I like how she leaves it open that way.

Dang, sorry I missed that. I wonder if I can find it on youtube or some such. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[MI mom of 3]

Dang, sorry I missed that. I wonder if I can find it on youtube or some such. Thanks for the heads up.

They are showing a longer version of the interview on Dateline Sunday night.

 

[JunieJay]

Here you go JunieJay.

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

Bless you!! Thanks!

 

[JunieJay]

They are showing a longer version of the interview on Dateline Sunday night.

Yay! Thanks!

 

[JunieJay]

I am so glad Alan Rickman plays Snape in the movies. He is such a great actor, and I can't wait to see him bring the emotion of those scenes to life.

I don't think I need to tell you Deb how much I love Alan Rickman. But I was floored when I read DH and found out that James and Lilly were born in 1960 and died in 1981. And since the story takes place in the 90s Snape should bei n his 30s. A bit of a stretch since AR is in pushing 60.

A minor detail, of course, and does not take away from my beloved Alan Rickman. But a bit surprising. I was also just floored to find out that James and Lily were not even 21 when they had Harry. I guess I just always pictured them older, maybe in their late 20s or early 30s when they died.

 

[ivanova]

I don't think I need to tell you Deb how much I love Alan Rickman. But I was floored when I read DH and found out that James and Lilly were born in 1960 and died in 1981. And since the story takes place in the 90s Snape should bei n his 30s. A bit of a stretch since AR is in pushing 60.

A minor detail, of course, and does not take away from my beloved Alan Rickman. But a bit surprising. I was also just floored to find out that James and Lily were not even 21 when they had Harry. I guess I just always pictured them older, maybe in their late 20s or early 30s when they died.

If they died in 1981, does that mean Harry was born in 1980 ... so the 7th book takes place in 1997 when Harry turns 17???

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

I just saw Order of the Phoenix today (for the third time) and I'm assuming everyone on this board, being so into the books, has seen the movie. I have to say, seeing the movie again after reading the book made it SOOOOO much better! I actually teared up a couple of times, even more than before, during some scenes. Just want to let you all know, that it's definitely worth another viewing now that the series is complete!