you can cut stars.

Yes, took me long enough to re-surface from reading hibernation. One part of me wanted to take my time with the book, another part of me was desperate to know the ending and terrified of being spoiled. But yes, I'm finally finished with it.

Some real-time reactions, as I can best recall.

DUDLEY. "You're not a waste of space." Never in a million would I have thought Dudley would make me cry. (Well, in my defense, I was emotional throughout the book.)

HEDWIG. How can you kill a poor owl? EVIL, ROWLING, EVIL.

OH GEORGE. "I'm holy. Holey, Fred, geddit?" "Pathetic! With the whole wide world of ear-related humour before you, you go for holey?" You twins are the best.

OH RON. How could you walk out on them? But I understand that it must happen, and I love you for regretting it almost immediately. And that part where he comes back, where he saves Harry and destroys the locket, where it is asserted that he is not just a sidekick, that he matters, that he is just a big a hero as Harry. Freaking awesome.

OH DOBBY. It's a glorious way to go down though.

OH RON/HERMIONE. That whole kissing and Harry's awkward and indignant "Oi! There's a war going on here!" cracked me up so bad.

OH FRED. NONONONO. Fred's eyes stared without seeing, the ghost of his last laugh still etched upon his face. *bawls*

LUPIN AND TONKS. *bawls more*

NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM. You kick ass.

OH SNAPE I LOVE YOU. A lot of people had tried to convince me Snape was good, and although some part of me wanted to believe that, the cynical side of me could never fathom the reason behind helping Harry and Dumbledore instead of Voldemort. Snape/Lily, however, was genius. Bloody genius. I know it has been speculated upon, but well, now that it's canon, it's bloody genius.

I'm still slightly confused though, about the true character of Albus Dumbledore and James Potter. I suppose Dumbledore is still the kind and wise, powerful wizard as he has always been, but just a little flawed, as all of us are. He has his weakness, the temptation of power drove him to make some of the biggest mistakes of his life. The difference between him and Voldemort, however, is perhaps, remorse. I must admit, seeing him again in King's Cross made me all weepy, even though I was so infuriated that previously, it was implied that he was sending Harry off to die, like a pig to slaughter. I need to re-read that chapter, and perhaps the whole book. That King's Cross chapter made little sense to me. As for James Potter, I would really love to know how he won Lily's heart. He seemed like a typical school bully, but I suppose that was just Snape's point of view. I think he was just playful and meant no real harm, and he grew up to be a wonderful man.

But Snape, oh Severus.

And Harry being a Horcrux. I did see that coming, but Harry coming to terms with his own death was heartbreaking. It is in his blood to always fight back, to go down fighting. Having to stand in front of Voldemort willingly without his wand in his hand must have taken so much of his willpower, with thoughts of Ron, Hermione and Ginny both pulling him back and pushing him forward. Such a painful struggle. Bringing his parents and Sirius and Remus back was such a poignant move on JK's part. "You'll stay with me?" "Until the very end." Ah. How many litres of tears all over the world have split over this book?

Oh, and I wanna know what happened to Luna. I got a feeling she hooked up with Dean Thomas, or maybe Neville.

And George. What happened to him then? I hope he continued with the shop even without Fred. Fred would have wanted him to. But ah, it would be so difficult for him to come to terms with Fred's death. It's like losing one half of oneself. *is all teary-eyed again*

And I wonder if Harry ever visited the Dursleys again? Oh and what are their jobs? Neville is teaching at Hogwarts, yes, but what about all the others?

Also, if there was one thing I didn't like about the book, it was the treatment of Draco. Granted, he was never a hero, but I would love to see him rise up to something bigger than himself, like what Snape had done. Hm, wait. Snape/Lily. Draco/Hermione. *runs away with my OTP* However, the love the Malfoys have for one another is touching. Lucius Malfoy might have willing given his services to the Dark Lord previously, but following that, it seems all the Malfoys want is to have one another safe. Draco only did what he did in Half Blood Prince because Voldemort threatened his family, and Narcissa helped Harry so she could get into Hogwarts to see her son. Also, Draco refused to give confirmation of the trio's identities in the manor. However, I still wish Draco played a bigger part in bringing down Voldemort.

Expect random spurts of posting as I re-read or remember stuff from the book.

Also, I refuse to think of it as an ending. Yes, there was a perfect ending, but the voice of Harry Potter will definitely echo for generations to come and the characters will continue to live in fanfiction. There will never really be a proper ending. *waits for Albus/Scorpius/Rosie fic* WIN.

I want a hot fudge sundae (comfort food).