Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

[Lady Ravyn]

i LOVED it!!!

i agree that the epilogue was sappy and predictable, but i didn't mind because i wouldn't have wanted it to end any other way as far as the characters are concerned. and i actually thought the wand stuff was explained rather well. i only wish she had gone into more detail about wands in the previous books. that way it would've been a bit clearer in the last book.

i do agree, though, she should have included more about the other characters;

my favorite parts were those that included cameos by the 'regulars' - the time in the beginning at the burrow; when they met aberforth; ESPECIALLY the last battle at hogwarts!!!!! mrs. weasley ROCKED!!! but despite the shortcomings, it had alot of action, and it explained quite a bit about snape and dumbledore, the two most intriguinly mysterious characters

, and so i shall have to dub this my favorite book in the series, seconded by bok three.

[sun-star]

Originally Posted by Lady Ravyn

mrs. weasley ROCKED!!!

She really did! I just love Molly

[Noble Elf Lord]

Great book, absolutely my favorite of the series. But! I hate it when... should I put spoiler tags? About deaths?

[inked]

I resurrected all the HP discussion threads I participated in since 2004, except the one on Nicolas Flamel. We can discuss all the speculations that were resolved or proved wrong or right, now that we remember them and the final book of the canon is out!

Check out the Harry Potter subgroup if you like. Perhaps we should keep the separate threads to allow for variety of expression.

I must say I have enjoyed this trip down memory lane and re-meeting all the Mooters who discussed Harry. The great thing is that more memory making is in the offing and great thoughts as well!

[Rían]

Hmm, there might be some copies back at the library now - the kids start school next week, so I think I"ll pop on over and get meself a copy ...

[elffreak24]

I Haven't read it yet but last I checked I was #206 on the list.

[elffreak24]

Correction: #122

[Rían]

Oy! *settles down to wait some more*

[Mari]

After book 5 I didn't have much hope for the rest of the series, but 6 was better and 7 made a nice ending. I was happy about the last few pages of the book.
I did feel there were some not-very-well explained parts though, especially near and at the end.
I still would have liked to know more about Dumbledore and I'm very glad I was right about Snape. It was not in the way I'd imagined though. But I really like Alan Rickman, so I was kinda hoping it would go this way.

Was able to really frustrate my sister with this book though: she finished it in 3 weeks or so, and it took me less than a day. I did have an awfull muscle ache in my neck afterwards, but it was worth it!

[Master'sBaneSwiftSnowmane]

I loved the action in this book! I think I liked it better that she focused on the main three this time. After all, the others help, and are affected by Voldemort, but except for a little bit of help they don't do much for the main goal "defeat Voldemort".

It took me a few reads of the 'wand' portions of the book to wrap my brain around the elder wand, but now that I have it makes a little sense...I think it could have been done little neater though.

All in all it was a good book, not great, but I liked because it finally tied everything together for me. Book three is still my fav. though.

Side note: I hated the epilogue. Sappy, not entirely believable (Don't think he would have named him that.), and we were pelted with a ton of new names.

[Serenoli]

There are a few spoilers here, and I forgot how to hide them... so be warned.

I was very disappointed by this book. A lot of people behaved before out of character - like Lupin, for one, and Ron, for another. Some of the dramatic scenes turned out a bit corny - especially the one where Ron tries to destroy the horcrux; I kind of liked her subtle way of showing people's feelings in the first 6 books, I didn't like the way she abandoned that... and I was annoyed at how the Trio, who are supposed to be such good friends, could not spend more than a day alone without squabbling like anything. It felt like the quarrels were just there to fill up pages between horcruxes.

Also, I really didn't like all the Polyjuice Potion. If it were that easy to rob Gringott's using it, and if ALL their problems could be solved with their unending supply of PP, surely Voldy would not have hesitated to kidnap random student, and take his place in Hogwarts long ago. PP and Elderly Wand both smack of deus ex machina.

Annoyed by another thing. If the Ministry actually have a spell by which they can put a Trace on just anybody, over-age or under, as they did in Harry's case, and if Voldy could utilise this spell, why, oh, why, didn't the Ministry, in the last six books use such a spell on DEs, or Voldy himself? If the Ministry were too dumb to think of it, why didn't DD think of it?

[katya]

Goodness! Considering how long it took me to get my hands on a copy of this, I am exceptionally lucky not to have been subjected to any spoilers! Woo! "But it's so predictable anyway," you say? Well, I suck, so, I'm always surprised by everything anyway.

Except Snape being an ok dude and that he really did have the hots of ol' Lily. I believed in you all along man!

I have this habit of judging books and movies not on if they're actually good or not but whether I like the way the story goes and whether it entertains me. In that respect, I liked this one a lot. Especially the bits about Snape. Except for I wasn't too into the idea that

everyone I really liked ended up dead! WTF. First Sirius, and now Lupin, and Fred, and what about poor old Hedwig? I love you Hedwig! And Snape, of course. I... love him as much as is possibly without being a fan girl. Poor f'ed up little darling...

There were some things that could've been done better. Lots of real cheese-tastic parts. But I think to myself, "Geez Harry, that's a cheesy thing to say," rather than thinking about Rowling writing it. I agree about the Polyjuice potion too, incidentally.

[Master'sBaneSwiftSnowmane]

But the ministry didn't put the trace on just anybody! Only underage witches and wizards. Also, there was a point in the fourth book where Voldemort was able to do magic by himself, but I get the feeling that he couldn't use magic without help before then, just because he was so weak. And that's how the track works. Whether you had it on you or not, you could go anywhere you wanted and they would never know unless you used magic. So, that bit doesn't annoy me at all. I'm sure Voldemort used the same sort of method or the same base spell for the track that he put on his name that allowed his followers to immediatly find resistors.
I was a bit disappionted with the Peverell brothers plot...it seemed like something pulled out of her butt just for the last book. I know that doesn't sound very nice...but that's how I see that one. Very last min.
They didn't rob Gringott's using the polyjuice potion, they broke in using the polyjuice potion. It was still very difficult to rob Gringotts. Even though I just defended the use of the pp, I still agree with you. It was very over used.
I feel like the Trio (I like that nichname!) were greatly affected by the horcrux, so their behavior, while out of character, is understandable and explainable.

[Serenoli]

Well, about the Trace, I remember there being a bit where we hear that Voldy put a Trace on Harry even though he was overage, because he could now control the ministry. Which means not anyone can do the spell, the ministry have some mechanism of doing it, like Hogwart's magic quill which detects the birth of any magical child immediately. You said the 'Ministry didn't use the Trace on just anybody, only on underage wizards'. My question is, why the hell not? Anyone who is convicted, ANY of those wizards who escaped from Azkaban should have been put under the Trace at once! Easiest way to find them - or at least, restrict them from using magic. And yet the Ministry didn't do it for six books, while moaning about how they are doing all they can to recapture said wizards and witches. Now this made sense for six books, because we assumed it was impossible for the Trace to be put on overage wizards. But in the seventh book, by having Voldy put the Trace on Harry after he's seventeen, she's saying it can be done on anyone. So it no longer makes sense. Either the Ministry-really-are-morons or, more likely, Rowling modified a spell and its rules to suit her plot in the seventh book, and in the process created a plot hole. Very last min, too, and thats why I'm annoyed.

As for being Out of character, I thought they were like that throughout the book. I didn't really recognise a Harry who could actually do Crucio and 'mean it'. He;s supposed to be full of love...This was a long time after the Horcrux. Besides, he's had one in his head all his life - how come it never affected him like that before? And even Voldy was so stoopid sometimes. Like he put his tiara in the Room of Requirement, because he thought no one else ever found the RoR, despite the evidence of thousands of banned books and misc items lining its shelves. It was tough work being scared of him after that. And Lupin, the one Marauder who actually seemed to understand the concept of responsibility and tried to teach Harry about it, wanted to leave Tonks and the baby for an adventure!

And Harry who had never been able to do Occlumency, was suddenly able to shut out Voldemort from his mind effortlessly, and gained so much skill in Legilimency, that not only could he penetrate Voldy's mind without detection, he could also read the mind of someone who Voldy was reading at the time... that wandmaker guy.

[Master'sBaneSwiftSnowmane]

Harry never had any trace on him, except the one when he was underage. The trace was on Voldemort's name and pin-pointed anyone who said it. And, the only people who said his name were the supporters of the OOTP.

I don't remember Harry using 'Crucio' in this book. When was that?
Harry never used Occlumency. Sure he could block out Voldemort sometimes, when he reallyreally tried, and he look into his head, but again, only when he really concentrated, or when Voldemort was experiencing a strong emotion, but then it was much easier, and sometimes it didn't work out for him at all. He wasn't penetrating Voldemort's mind...I tend to think of it more along the lines of "he's along for the ride". That small portion of him that ties him to Lord Voldemort allows him to do that. He was seeing what Voldemort thought and saw, so that also means that if Voldemort sees the memories and actions of another, Harry will see them. Harry himself wasn't looking into the wandmaker's past, he was simply 'along for the ride'.

Voldemort was stubborn, and put his own intelligence on a pedestal. I can see him making a mistake like putting the tiara in the room of requirement. Especially since he already had a few others...and I'd also like to point out that, despite the large amount of stuff in the room, a very few number people have found the room, when you compare it to how many people have gone through Hogwarts. Also, even though he thought it possible for someone else to find it, he had other protections on it and, it was pure luck, and a good memory from past experiences, that Harry knew where it was and found it so easily.

Lupin wasn't leaving Tonks to go on an adventure! That's simply what Harry said to make him stay home. In Lupin's mind he was leaving to help defeat the Dark Lord and create a better life for his child. It was also his cowardice. He was afraid of what his own child would think of his socially inacceptable father. So, he tried to leave and even if it wasn't the right thing to try to do, he did it for the right reasons (with the exception of cowardice ofcourse).

[Rían]

Just realized that I still haven't read this ...

[inked]

Well, Rian, get reading! You are going to be delighted.......

Right, again and again and again,
Inked

[ElizabethAnnRoger]

I just hated that Lupid died!! Oh aha waa!! i really did cry...and TONKS TOO!! boohoo! and their little son all by himself...I'm gonna go shed some tears *walks away from computer to go have a soft little cry on the sofa...*

[sisterandcousinandaunt]

A quick review of spoiler tagging seems necessary, here.

If you are going to post something that might give away a plot point (like saying someone dies, etc.) you start that secion by posting a tag. You write the word spoiler and enclose it in the square brackets [ ]. At the end of your remark you write /spoiler and enclose that also in the square brackets.

Here's a demonstration:

The Wizard of Oz is a FAKE!

See? It protects the innocent.

[Goldberry1]

Originally Posted by Master'sBaneSwiftSnowmane

I don't remember Harry using 'Crucio' in this book. When was that?

I believe that was when

one of the Carrows spat on/at McGonagall, when Harry and Luna were inside Ravenclaw tower looking for the diadem.

I thought it really out of character, and I believe there's several instances of them throwing Imperiuses around too.

McGonagall uses it, and the trio do when trying to get into Gringotts.