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).
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).
So. Anyone has any good Harry Potter fics to rec? No matter what timeline, what pairing, I'm open to all (although some D/Hr would be perfect). After two weeks of nothing but Harry Potter, I'm a little lost now with nothing to read. Also, link me to your reviews, will ya? I'm not quite willing to go back 52804578247509 pages of my friends' page.
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J.K. is writing a HP Encyclopedia. She's taking a break before jumping into it, though. It will be probably 20 years before we get to learn all of the characters backgrounds. D:
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Especially Fred's death description, which made me bawl so badly, I couldn't read anymore because my eyes were so watery.
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I agree with pretty much everything you said. Really.
But I didn't see Harry as a horcrux coming.
And I was so sad and shocked when Snape died, even though I'd never really liked him before. I never would've thought that he was good. Ever. :-O
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Here's my review. But be warned, it's pretty scattered and not very deep. :)
As for fanfiction, I'm desperately looking for a place with good Harry Potter fiction. None of the harry potter fanfiction sites are easy to use at all. They're all laid out so badly. But I think
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Thanks for the comm link. I really do need closure. *sighs*
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When Fred died I really started getting emotional. It was all downhill from there.
I read that JK cried and cried over the part when Harry brings back his parents, Lupin and Sirius. It was such a sad part, I can understand why.
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Fred's death was so sudden and so wrong. Urgh. Damn. Too cruel, JK, too cruel.
I love that chapter. Harry coming to terms with his own death with the help of his parents and Sirius and Lupin was absolutely heartbreaking. =(
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i think draco was redeemed in the Room of Requirement, and his intentions were made clear. he switched sides and finally had the strength and got over his cowardice to do that. which was amazing, and i think one of the reasons DD didn't want draco to commit murder and snape to do it instead. he wanted to preserve the part of draco that would be human and see past all of this. interestingly, i wonder if lucius would ever have revolted against voldemort the way narcissa and draco did, just because of his whole killing stuff.
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I would love to think that of Draco, but I think he never really switched sides, because he never really took one. Sure, he helped the Deatheaters, but it was reluctantly so. ANd he was never really evil, nor did he kill anyone. I think that was crucial. That very first kill. And you're right about Dumbledore wanting to help Draco. I think Lucius probably gave in to the first kill, and got numb after that.
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And hmmm Id totally love some good HP fic to read too! I actually went back and started re-reading old HP fic before DH came out..it was great. Anyways, omg I cant even think of any right now. I dont know which ones youve read or not read.
Also Ive been trying to find good DH fic and Ive just read this one - Summer Holidays by
I know what you mean bout reading the book. I started reading really fast at first but once I got past the middle I was like 'omg this is the last book! i want to read it slow' so I started trying to read it very slowly. it didnt really work though - i still read it in 2 days. Oh well.
OMG I just love the book and yes the part where Ron came back was so awesome. That was such an amazingly written chapter. Its one of my favourite parts of the book. LOL the RHr kissing didnt crack me up but Harrys reaction did! I KNOW, how sad was it when Hedwig died? And it was even more sad cos it was like his first conenction to the wizarding world. Also I totally agree bout the whole Dumbledore/Voldemort/remorse thing. Even though Dumbledore IS flawed I think it was great that he spent his entire life trying to atone for his mistake and staying away from power.
i really do not get everyones new obsession with AS/S.
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Heh. I dragged it out over 4 days, I think.
Ooh, I love that part when Ron comes back too! But my absolute favorite chapter has to be Snape's backstory. I love knowing more about the previous generation. If only we know more about James and Lily's story.
LOL. I guess the new characters give the fandom more things to write about, and you have to admit, ASS is kinda funny. =D
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I didnt read HP fic for ages either until just before DH came out. I didnt really read a lot then either cos I was too busy re-reading the books!
Oh well, Ive just been reading Maya (
I think ASS is SUCH a funny ship name. Ive actually read some ASS fic but its not really my thing. I dont really get why people are obsessed with it! Also Ive tried reading other thirdgen fic like Teddy/James and ok I am so not into it!
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I really like that Rowling didn't leave Dudley the big bully he's been the whole time. I hope Harry visited the Dursleys after all of this :)
Oh Ron, seriously! I love the fact that Rowling didn't leave some of the supporting characters as just that, but made them do something really important in the course of things- like Ron and Neville destroying the horcruxes.
I need time to recover from Snape's/Fred's/Lupin's/Tonks'/Moody's/etc deaths. Every time I even read about it, I get so teary eyed :'(
SNAPE SNAPE SNAPE!!!!!!! GYAAAA!
Harry being a horcrux didn't really surprise me, thanks to various fandom theories, I guess. But apparently I hadn't really thought too much about what it'd actually mean, if he were one, so it was still very emotional.
I really wanted to know what happened to Luna, too! I don't know why, but to me, it seems that Neville/Luna would be a more probable and of course, awesome pairing, even though wikipedia says that "Throughout the end of the seventh book, Luna is often implied as an interest to Dean Thomas." I didn't really catch that :D
I was also wondering what kind of jobs the main three got.. Harry wanted to be an auror, right? Hmm but would an auror have much work after the death of Voldemort? I wish there had been something about that in the epilogue.
huaaa long and totally incoherent comment :D sorry bout that!
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Oh yes, Ron and Neville. I especially like how she wrote Ron leaving, but coming back in the nick of time to save Harry and destroy the Horcrux.
I know, I get teary-eyed too, especially about Fred and Snape. =(
There is this interview (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19959323/) with JK on msn.com about the future of the trio. Have you read it? Although in her live chat, she said Ron went to help George with his shop, as compared to him as an Auror in the msn interview. I think JK is still trying to decide herself. Heh.
Oh don't worry about long comments. I love long comments. =D
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I don't know whether it was in the live chat or somewhere else, but my friend told me that George named his son Fred. That just about killed me :D I was wondering why, say, Ron hadn't named his son Fred or something, but it's all the more aww-worthy when it's George's instead.
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BUT yes :D. Enough about that. It was on the whole, fantastic. What a way to go out.
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Anyway, yes, I agree the book was rather slow in the middle, but the ending was awesome! =D
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I just finished. And I totally was wishing for Draco to be rise up, instead of having the whole Malfoy clan being wimps. Other than that, I agree with everything you said - HP will never truely be over and I don't care how delusional that sounds because it's the only way I can close the book!
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HARRY POTTER WILL NEVER BE OVER.
Erm, yeah. =D
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Well, you better get to it. *threatens you with rock salt*
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My emotions were heightened throughout the book and I cried pretty much anytime anyone died - Hedwidg, Dobby, Fred, Tonks, Lupin, Harry. It was a crazy emotional ride this book was.
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