So!! Who's finished Deathly Hallows?? by PhoenixRose

As of ten minutes ago - I'm not actually fond of the series but I wind up having to read them since girl wants to DISCUSS them,, *eyeroll*

And so, I had to know.

Pretty good, kinda drags at one part, but all in all, satisfactory.

Spoilery Stuff

Select to view spoiler:

High death toll indeed, I was like, damn, they're droppin like flies - got my wish, Mad Eye went down swingin, as I felt he always would.

I knew I had nailed Snapes reasons and motivations pretty good, and as previously mentioned, he WAS trying to educate potter, but ramming his flaws in his face and forcing him to deal with them, instead of buttering him up like everyone else did - whether Snape ever realized it or not, that's the mark of a true friend.

Dumbledore, Jerk, Berk, never liked him, never trusted him, and still don't, even dead.

All the deaths and only one, just one, made me misty-eyed... Dobby.
House Elf Hero, truly free, and of noble and altruistic spirit, if only the wizards would ever learn from his example, eh ?

Kinda feel shorted on Minerva, she was a bit wimpier than I expected, bleh.

But omg, Molly, Dayammmn, and that's all I got to say about that.

-Frem

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Sunday, July 22, 2007 2:36 AM

BLACKBEANIE

Finished it on saturaday. And in less than 10 hours, I'm very proud.

I was shocked by the death toll, Joss is proabably applauding this woman as we speak.
The story turned out really good, lots of little twists and things that were connected. I loved it.

Was anyone else surprised by the swearing?

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Sunday, July 22, 2007 2:50 AM

REGINAROADIE

Read it all in one sitting. I waited all day for it to come by Canada Post, which they never delivered. Finally got fed up and went to Chapters and got a copy myself. Read the first chapter in the parking lot, then drove home. Started reading it pretty much immediately, used up the remaining coffee in the house to keep me buzzed, and read the entire thing in one night. I finished it in about 13 hours.

All I gotta say is, this is without a doubt the darkest of the books and at times I wasn't sure where this was going, and not in a good way. But the finale tied everything beautifully, and the majority of my predictions came true.

I can't really give an honest opinion about it since I haven't slept in about 24 hours, so I really should be getting to bed. But suffice to say, it was a powerful experience.

**************************************************
"And it starts with a sentence that might last a lifetime, or it all might just go down in flames. If I let you know me, then why would you want me? Each day I don't is a shame. Each day I don't is a great shame."

Loudon Wainwright III - "Strange Weirdos" off the "Knocked Up" soundtrack

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Sunday, July 22, 2007 3:29 AM

You think you know--what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun.

Quote:
Originally posted by Shiny:
EVERYONE PLEASE REMEMBER TO USE THE SPOILER TAGS OUT OF COURTESY. (I've also edited the thread subject to reduce the chance of someone accidentally stumbling onto spoilers and ruining it for themselves)

I would really hope that no one would click on a "Who's finished" thread if they weren't finished.
So yeah, if you're not FINISHED you probably want to just leave the thread. Now. Seriously. Because I find comunicating completely in spoiler tags to be annoying as hell and I am not gonna do it. That's why I started this thread instead of going and talking about it everywhere.
Anyway.
I... still don't like Snape. I know, I know, he's one of the good guys after all, but he's an asshole! He supposedly loved Lily, but still joined the campaign against 'mudbloods' and then got a concience when it occured to him that others wouldn't have seen her as different from any other 'mudblood' and she might *gasp* be in trouble. That's not sweet or romantic or noble, it's just selfish. Okay, so useful to have someone on the inside as a spy, but that he was there in the first place...

I cried over a lot of the deaths, but I think I cried hardest over Dobby and Fred. Fred was such a sudden low blow, and it really just brushed over George's reaction. I mean, they were twins, and shared everything as most twins do, and I've heard having a twin die is like losing a part of your own soul. Poor George.
Lupin didn't hit me until the 'shades' showed up. What exactly were they, anyway? Not really back from the dead, but an echo of the dead? A glimpse of the dead? Talking to the dead? Anyway, when they showed up and there he was, I really started crying. Somehow until then I thought one of them would be okay. I didn't want little Teddy to be an orphan. Especially wondering, for the first time, whether his godfather was going to make it. She really had me scared with that "Harry is a horcrux" thing. I had wondered if she would have them both die, but couldn't believe she really would. It would have been a bold break from tradition... but considering the scope of the fanbase, it's probably good she didn't, because she might have seriously gotten death threats.
Magda and I totally came up with the scenario of Molly flying into a maternal rage and finishing Bellatrix. That was awesome!
Surprised by the swearing? No. These things haven't truly been kid's books since Goblet of Fire. It's difficult to break genre barriers, so she had to keep anything explicit out of the book, despite all the violent death that was described. I've always had an issue with the "Violence is okay, but no sex or swearing" thing with whether something is 'okay' for children. I read these books at exactly the right age. I was 13 when I burned through the first three, and then I got the new ones as they came out, and I grew up with the characters, and I really think that's how they should be read. Otherwise, read them all in one sitting at about sixteen. Probably not at ten. Anyway, that's me getting off on a tangeant because it bugs me that something that should by rights be for adults isn't allowed to be too adult.
Okay, so little Albus's middle name is Severous, so who thinks that little James's middle name is Sirius and little Lily's is Dora?

*edit* Oh yeah! Best. Potter. Ever.

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Sunday, July 22, 2007 4:59 AM

DEEPGIRL187

I'm done! Started around eight yesterday, had it finished by four. Tears did ensue.

I really think she did a wonderful job of ending things. Even though it hurts my heart to lose certain people, I think it was best that way. She really wrote the story realistically, showing that no battle can be won without loss.

On the other hand,

Select to view spoiler:

Remus, Tonks, Dobby and Fred? That I'm still reeling from. And I was so pleased with how she wrote Snape's character, and especially that in the end, Harry was able to forgive and respect the decisions he made.

Okay, have to stop typing, or the tears will start again.

***************************************************

"Right! Because teenage pranks are fun when you're about to die!"

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Sunday, July 22, 2007 5:17 AM

Arrived at the bookstore about 10:30pm, got my copy about 12:45 (I was #400 in line, go figure), got home just after 1, and finished it at 7:20am. Loved every minute of it and collapsed in hysterical giggles for several minutes at Hermione yelling "MERLIN'S PANTS!". Have some nits to pick though.

So I'm the only one who thinks the death toll was too low then? Fred, Remus and Tonks were certainly painful but I don't think it rings true to get through the defeat of the greatest Dark wizard of all time without losing at least one of Harry, Ron, Hermione or Ginny. The deaths in the previous two books struck much closer to Harry personally than these ones did.

I spotted one plot hole - Snape's patronus took the same form as Lily's after her death. The Order of the Phoenix communicate using patronuses, so everyone would be aware of the form of everyone else's. Lily and James were in the Order. But yet nobody in the Order has a clue of why Dumbledore is so sure Snape has reformed? A doe patronus isn't a BIG FREAKING CLUE that Lily might JUST have been important to him in some way?

I was unhappy about the way the book - and Harry - treated Ginny. Her "birthday present" was entirely in character but after that it wasn't at all like her to just slink off to Hogwarts. Ok, so she helped leading the resistance there, but I don't believe that she would have just abandoned Harry. And the fact that she didn't even show up when they were at Bill and Fleur's house, and she knew it, was completely out of character. And Harry should have given her more credit in the final battle than to just try to keep her safe and out of action. He knows her better than that, or damn well ought to by now.

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Sunday, July 22, 2007 6:55 AM

SHINY

Quote:
Originally posted by PhoenixRose:
Quote:
Originally posted by Shiny:
EVERYONE PLEASE REMEMBER TO USE THE SPOILER TAGS OUT OF COURTESY. (I've also edited the thread subject to reduce the chance of someone accidentally stumbling onto spoilers and ruining it for themselves)

I would really hope that no one would click on a "Who's finished" thread if they weren't finished.
So yeah, if you're not FINISHED you probably want to just leave the thread. Now. Seriously. Because I find comunicating completely in spoiler tags to be annoying as hell and I am not gonna do it. That's why I started this thread instead of going and talking about it everywhere.

Ouch. Looks like I touched a nerve! Sorry PR, I just wanted to be extra careful because I hate being spoiled myself. At least we're not going dark all weekend like every HP forum on the Web -- what's up with that?!?!

Anyway, I think my favorite part was Harry viewing Snape's full memories in the Pensieve (I just liked the way it was written)...although I think Dumbledore really did use Harry, and I resented it (if you are going to use someone like that, someone you claim to care very much about, at least respect them enough to be straight with them -- if not before he died, at least he should have put arrangements in place so he could have given Harry more guidance from his portrait in the headmaster's office)

---

I don't need a gorram back-spaceship driver!!!

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Sunday, July 22, 2007 7:40 AM

RIVERDANCER

Really? All the forums are going dark? Weird. The whole gorramn plot is up on wikipedia, including a comprehensive list of all known deaths.
Killing Ron, Hermione, Harry, or Ginny would, as PR said, be a bold break from tradition, but I knew it wasn't gonna happen. And I think, clearly, that Dobby's death hit him very hard. Dobby was important to Harry. Harry dug his grave, carved him a little tombstone, thought he deserved a funeral and a tomb like Dumbledore, and was pushed into moving faster and with more determination. Lupin, as well, was very close to Harry's heart, the last of his father's dear friends, the man who taught him, possibly better than anyone, how to survive. The man who named him godfather. One of the spirits he summoned up to give him the courage to do what he thought was needed. He didn't summon Dumbledore, then. And, I think he was right not to, becuase he was feeling used, he was used, and even though Dumbledore was proud, even though he did care, even though he wanted him to survive and left a message with Snape in hopes that he would, like his mother, make the ultimate sacrifice and hence be sparred, he also didn't tell him everything he needed. I think he should have told him more. I think the puzzle-it-out bullshit was tiring. But I also think he was doing, like Harry, as he thought he must. But Harry was right to feel bad and right not to summon his shade. And right to go and do what he had to anyway.

On the patronus I've got nothing. I never saw Snape using it to communicate with anyone in the Order, so maybe he just never did. Maybe, in his role of spy, he couldn't. But it seems odd that no one would catch on, yeah.

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Sunday, July 22, 2007 7:56 AM

ZEROKIRYU

The way Hedwig died was just wrong.

And there is a place reservered for Umbridge in the Special Hell.

_________________________________________________

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Sunday, July 22, 2007 8:00 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by RiverDancer:
On the patronus I've got nothing. I never saw Snape using it to communicate with anyone in the Order, so maybe he just never did. Maybe, in his role of spy, he couldn't. But it seems odd that no one would catch on, yeah.

He did use it at least once, but possibly with Dumbledore himself who already knew. When Umbridge had Harry captive and Harry yelled "He's got Padfoot!", Snape contacted the rest of the Order to confirm Sirius was safe, and eventually to alert them that Harry may have gone after Sirius himself. Dumbledore said something like "I should mention that members of the Order of the Phoenix have more reliable ways of communicating than the fire in Dolores Umbridge's office" - and JKR has confirmed that meant the patronus thing. But I don't think it's ever spelled out (heh, no pun intended) exactly which members of the Order he contacted that day.

One thing I loved was the little nods back to previous books. At the Whomping Willow when Ron wishes they had Crookshanks to stop the branches for them, Hermione says "Crookshanks? Are you a wizard or what?". Way back in book one when they were caught in the devil's snare that's afraid of heat and light, Ron told Hermione to light a fire, she said "there's no wood" and Ron bellowed "Have you gone mad? Are you a witch or not?"

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Sunday, July 22, 2007 8:06 AM

FIZZIX

Not worth staying up for, which I did. 7 hours of reading, including when I sat in front of the television, read only 4 pages in a half hour. Ouch.

I had mine shipped to me, so it got home at about 1-2, and I couldn't start until 3 (I was fuming.).

Honestly, the only prediction I got right (oddly enough I was all for Harry dies 1/3 through, Voldemort dies 3/4 through) was the ministry falling to pieces, but I heard a friend mention the possibility of Harry being a Horcrux! HOLY CRAP!

No kidding, she said this on Thursday. Weird.

/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\
May not be smart, and it may not please you, but you're definitely gonna see what I have to say.
Put this in your sig if you had a favorite show that may have been named Firefly and was canceled by FOX.

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Sunday, July 22, 2007 8:09 AM

SHINY

Quote:
Originally posted by zerokiryu:
The way Hedwig died was just wrong.

Dear kids,

War is hell.

That is all.

Love,
JKR

---

I don't need a gorram back-spaceship driver!!!

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Sunday, July 22, 2007 8:11 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Fizzix:
but I heard a friend mention the possibility of Harry being a Horcrux! HOLY CRAP!

No kidding, she said this on Thursday. Weird.

Actually that's been a popular prediction for many months. I never believed it, sad to say. I did get a bunch of others right, though. My most obscure (that I never heard anyone else suggest at all) was that when Aunt Petunia said in book 5 "I heard that awful boy telling her about them", she meant Snape rather than James. Rather proud of myself for that one!

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Sunday, July 22, 2007 9:23 AM

http://www.myspace.com/lady_magdalena
http:/www.crazypurplewombat.blogspot.com

Truth ?
I lay a lotta those deaths at the feet of dumblebore, and later, the order.

If AT ANY TIME, even one of em would have flat levelled with Harry, actually *trusted* in him, treated him as a person and potential adult instead of a 'thing' to be used - many of those deaths would not have occured.

I wouldn't have blamed him for ditching the lot of em, honestly.

If you've ever played the most recent issue of Bard's Tale for Xbox, there's a "screw both of you" ending that's a lot like that, which amused me to no end.

-Frem

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Sunday, July 22, 2007 10:08 AM

TAMSIBLING

Okay, so I finished it about an hour ago. I have to say I was happy with the resolution - although I've got to admit I was expecting a higher price to be paid.

SPOILERS:

Not that I don't love Fred, but I really thought Hermione or Ron was going to have to pay the ultimate price - or maybe even one of the Weasley parents. Although I've got to say - Molly calling Bellatrix a bitch was just great!

I also really, really enjoyed the epilogue - remember, there are SPOILERS here folks, if you haven't read, don't keep going ...

I was glad to see the loose ends wrapped up and was giddy as a school girl at the thought of Ron and Hermione and Ginny and Harry getting married and having kids. I would have loved to have seen a little more immediate resolution/fall-out from the actual battle with Voldemort, but I think I can understand why Rowling didn't do it.

The only thing that disappointed me were the two chapters or so of obvious exposition - Harry in the Pensieve with Snape's thoughts (although I knew he was in love with Lily), and Harry and Dumbledore after he surrenders to be killed - those are the ones that immediately spring to mind. It might be that I've never noticed Rowling's shortcomings as a writer before or just that these are really obvious, but I was a might disappointed that she couldn't think of another way to impart this info to us and not all in the last 100 pages of the book. I think a lot of it was necessary, I just would have preferred it got spread out.

So, I guess that's it. Yes, the book was dark, but I wasn't expecting any less. I was really surprised when Ron left Harry and Hermione early on and even more surprised by Herminone's reaction when he came back. I thought for sure she'd let him off the hook a bit easier. I would have liked to have seen a bit more romance, but the kids are still pretty young and so I figure it's to be expected that there wouldn't be a ton of it. Still, aren't they all about raging hormones? Just kidding ...

I think all in all Rowling did herself proud ... and gave the fans a satisfying resolution.

***
So ... explain to me your obsession with all things evil?

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Sunday, July 22, 2007 10:37 AM

MAGDALENA

"No power in the 'verse can stop me!"

I don't agree with Dumbledore bearing so much blame - in war there are casualties and if Voldemort hadn't wanted to take over for his own personal power hungry reasons, Dumbledore wouldn't have made mistakes nor would Harry or members of the Order...

I also don't agree that Harry, Ginny, Ron or Hermione should have died. They had been preparing for this for a long time and were all quite talented and powerful witches and wizards for their ages... Ron might have been the weakest link in the group - but he had been there and done that more often than most members of the Order and there is always an element of luck in these things!

Just to be fair... though I didn't open this thread until I finished the book...

Select to view spoiler:

I thought the description of Fred's death and the moments that followed were excellent... "The world had ended, so why had the battle not ceased, the castle fallen silent in horror and every combatant laid down their arms?"

Moments like this in your life do seem to defy the normalcy of life going on around you...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Sunday, July 22, 2007 10:51 AM

REGINAROADIE

Although you have to wonder. Now that the series is over, what will she do now? She has more money than the Queen, so she could just easily say "bugger it" and retire. Or will she actually create new books that are separate from the Harry Potter universe? Of course, she could always fall into that trap of never eclipsing her previous successes. I mean, when you create a book series that is second only to the Bible as the most printed and most read bit of literature ever made, it's obviously going to be a tough act to follow. And the most famous authors ever could never really be known for more than their biggest successes. I mean, J.R.R. Tolkein never got past THE LORD OF THE RINGS and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, even after doing what he always wanted to write (historical fiction), was not recognized beyond Holmes.

Mind you, C.S. Lewis is recognized just as much for THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS as much as he is for the NARNIA series.

If she says "I'm never going to top the massive success I've had with Harry, so I'm not going to try.", I can respect her decision. But if maybe years later she does decide to write something new, I hope Harry Potter doesn't cast too big a shadow over it.

Maybe she could learn from Joss. Even with FIREFLY flopping, at least he's not known JUST for BUFFY/ANGEL.

**************************************************
"And it starts with a sentence that might last a lifetime, or it all might just go down in flames. If I let you know me, then why would you want me? Each day I don't is a shame. Each day I don't is a great shame."

Loudon Wainwright III - "Strange Weirdos" off the "Knocked Up" soundtrack

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Sunday, July 22, 2007 12:46 PM

Um in the scene where he shows Dumbledore the patronus Snape specifically mentions he never uses it in front of anyone... so that's why no one in the order knew...and since he'd forbidden Dumbledore to say anything...

"I'm not all that interested in the mental health of people who want to kill me. "- Leroy Jethro Gibbs

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Sunday, July 22, 2007 12:58 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by msg:
Um in the scene where he shows Dumbledore the patronus Snape specifically mentions he never uses it in front of anyone... so that's why no one in the order knew...and since he'd forbidden Dumbledore to say anything...

Not in my copy he doesn't. Here's the full quote:

Quote:
"But this is touching, Severus," said Dumbledore seriously. "Have you grown to care for the boy, after all?"
"For him?" shouted Snape. "Expecto Patronum!"
From the tip of his wand burst the silver doe: She landed on the office floor, bounded once across the office, and soared out of the window. Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears.
"After all this time?"
"Always," said Snape.
And the scene shifted [...]

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Sunday, July 22, 2007 12:58 PM

DRU

I thought it was the best book in the whole series.

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Sunday, July 22, 2007 5:07 PM

You think you know--what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun.

Just had a thought. We never find out why Hagrid's "broken wand" works when no other broken wand will. I seriously doubt Dumbledore would snap it in half, were it up to him, but it probably wasn't up to him...

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Sunday, July 22, 2007 5:36 PM

AMITON

Done (maybe I'm slow...but I had other stuff to do, too).

Honestly, I'm not disappointed with the book or the resolution to the story at all. Things fell out about like I expected them to. I do have to admit that this wasn't my favorite *book* of the series. My personal issues? First off, I felt like I could feel the hand of the author a lot in this book. Nothing to pull you out of the story quite like reading something and thinking "how in the hell does that fit here?" It made several of the plot advancements feel really forced to me. Second, much like in the beginning of OOtP, Harry spent the story on my last nerve as a whiny little -- something or other. I understood why the character had to react that way in OOtP, and it was part of the plot. At this point I just wanted Voldy to wax him so he'd shut up. While I'm on the topic, Dumbledore is a dick. Props to JKR for making a character that you can get behind so fully and then have her just filet the entire premise that you've been brought in on. I think she meant to redeem him some, but he still deserves a good kick in the jimmy in my book. Conversely, I never quite got on the Snape-haters bus as fully as I think I should have, and I'm sure he was supposed to be redeemed quite a bit as well, but he still deserves a good kick, too. Maybe just in the shins instead, though. The body count was weird for me. Yeah, people we know were dropping all over the place, injured or otherwise, but it almost like there was no outside world for the first time in the series. Minimal interaction with the wizarding or the muggle worlds, and it just felt really sterile to me.

Like I said, I like the books, and this one was pretty good, but some of the disappointments I found in it make me quite a bit less sad that the series is over.

Amiton.

P.S. - I believe JKR when she says she's going to steer clear of HP, or at least that she has honest intentions to. I don't think she's ever going to get clear of the spectre, and I don't think she's going to have near the success with her future works unless/until she relents and puts some work back out in the HP-verse. She's always going to have decent sales on anything she puts her name on just out of popular recognition, but she's going to lose a lot of the phenomenon status just because it's something different. I think if she actually goes with the western series she's been talking about for a few years as a follow-up, somebody is going to get their feelings hurt.

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Sunday, July 22, 2007 5:38 PM

Umm, Hagrids wand works about as well as Ron's did when Ron broke his and tried to spellotape it back together...

If ya noticed, Hagrid's spell throwing isn't exactly...umm, wellll... *giggle*

-F

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Sunday, July 22, 2007 5:47 PM

You think you know--what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun.

So then how come he never got a new wand? His name was cleared; seems like that would be the time to go get a not-broken wand. It's just one of the things that bugged me throughout the series, I thought it might get addressed. *edit* Also, Ron's wand behaved a good deal worse. It did things at random, backfired, etc. Hagrid's wand is very well-behaved in comparison, and he's admitted he was 'never great shakes at magic'.

Rowling has said she might write a Harry Potter encyclopedia type book, with profits going to charity like those of "Quiditch Through the Ages" and "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them". Beyond that, I think she'll at least take a break from writing. She deserves it and she can afford it.

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Monday, July 23, 2007 2:45 AM

SOULOFSERENITY

The Man They Call Soul...

Okay, I've just got to post.

I finished the book around 3:30 Saturday afternoon, and ever since then, I've been in a funk. I'm physically depressed, as strange as that sounds. I loved the book, but I HATE the fact that it's over. I can't stand knowing that as it stands right now, there will be no more Harry Potter. Please tell me that I'm not the only one, and that I'm NOT crazy!!

______________________

Soul, Security Chief of the Sereni-Tree, Captain of Destiny.

Mantichorus: "So is there a reason they call you 'Soul'?"
Soul (after a long pause): "Yeah. Because I have one."

I'm blogging about the novel I'm writing! Stay informed, and keep me inspired! Please!

http://havenofsouls.blogspot.com/

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Monday, July 23, 2007 5:11 AM

It is sort of like coming to the end of a long journey and thinking...what a great trip oh but I can't go forward

I thought Dumbledore's comment implied he hadn't seen Snapes patronus in a long time ( which would mean he didn't show it to the order) and I went back and can't find a single instance of Snape using it...

Ok and I thought that answer " Always" was heart wrenching...

Also..may I say Molly Weasley kicks ASS!!

"I'm not all that interested in the mental health of people who want to kill me. "- Leroy Jethro Gibbs

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Monday, July 23, 2007 5:21 AM

You think you know--what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun.

I'm sorry, Soul, but I'm happy with it now. The things I don't think were resolved satisfactorily could fill maybe ten pages, and that's really not a lot. I'm glad it stayed good (have to say I was worried she might be losing her touch a little after Order) and will remain forever good.
Maybe it's something only a bitter former X-phile feels, but it's better to end a story while it's still great than to keep forcing it just because it's successful. X-files and Star Wars both, actually, have proven that an entire story can be ruined if part of it is bad; it all seems pointless - even if parts of it were brilliant - if it ends (or begins) badly.
I'm not depressed. I'm not sorry it's over. I think it's as perfect as it will get, and forcing another book when she's done telling the story could possibly just ruin everything.
Be happy that it will always be perfect

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Monday, July 23, 2007 5:24 AM

DEATHISMYGIFT

Picked up my copy at 12:10am, read the entire bloody weekend and finished Sunday around 3pm.

I feel very vindicated having debated with several people over the outcome of a particular charcter. (Not sure if we're suppose to spoil here or not)

I am going to be brutally honest. I did not enjoy the majority of the book. Hiding in a tent for more than 400 pages sort of made me frustrated while waiting for something to happen. But once things started to happen I couldn't put it down.

The only deaths I cried about was the witch and wizard who had just had a baby. (Naming no names as aforementioned spoiler alert)

Albus.

Severus.

My heart melted.

"it's always complicated and at some point someone has to draw the line and that is always going to be me. you get down on me for cutting myself off but in the end the slayer is always cut off. there's no mystical guide book, no all knowing council, human rules don't apply. there's only me....i am the law" -Buffy the Vampire Slayer

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Monday, July 23, 2007 5:27 AM

It's ok to spoiler in here...just nowhere else...
and I am right with you...did the I told you so dance to friends who felt Snape was a bad guy.
I know.. he was a Slytherin and the bravest man I ever knew...sob

I know it was so sad about Lupin and Tonks... I did start to feel like it was a bit too Blair Witch what with the lost, danger, whining, fear...camping.

"I'm not all that interested in the mental health of people who want to kill me. "- Leroy Jethro Gibbs

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Monday, July 23, 2007 5:41 AM

LEIASKY

I, too, think there needed to be a higher price paid in deaths. When kids can live through what went on while their teachers fall like flies around them, is just a little bit unbelievable to me.

I knew my favorite would die, Snape, but I was NOT expecting Hedwig to die. I loved that owl!

"A government is a body of people usually notably ungoverned."

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Monday, July 23, 2007 5:44 AM

I know it stopped me reading for a good 5 minutes of sadness...
I think it's 'cause the teachers are more front line and in more danger and the kids are second line and therefore get attacked only after teachers have fallen...

"I'm not all that interested in the mental health of people who want to kill me. "- Leroy Jethro Gibbs

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Monday, July 23, 2007 5:46 AM

DEATHISMYGIFT

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Monday, July 23, 2007 6:24 AM

DEATHISMYGIFT

Quote:
Originally posted by TamSibling:
Still, aren't they all about raging hormones? Just kidding ...

Man, I thought the same thing. I told my gf, "Harry is alone with Hermione in that tent for that long and nothing happens? Aren't 17 year old boys only thinking about one thing?" and She said, "Yeah but he has a lot of other things on his mind."

It made me think of Xander. "I'm a seventeen year old boy, looking at linoleum makes me want to have sex."

"it's always complicated and at some point someone has to draw the line and that is always going to be me. you get down on me for cutting myself off but in the end the slayer is always cut off. there's no mystical guide book, no all knowing council, human rules don't apply. there's only me....i am the law" -Buffy the Vampire Slayer

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Monday, July 23, 2007 6:28 AM

LITTLEALBATROSS29

I finsihed it last night !

Hedwig & Moody's deaths hit me hard..I really felt so sad for Harry loosing his familiar.He had so much loss already.Then Moody's death followed so quickly after that.It was heartbreaking to think he just fell.
Remus & Tonks shattered me too.They are favorites of mine.Knowing that Teddy grew up safe made the blow easier.

I loved learning about Dumbledore's past .
Percy coming in at the end made me happy . The Weasleys who deserved some happiness after their loss..

I thought the story moved at a quck pace & was never disappointed.Rowling remained true to the charachters & story as a whole .

19 years later...that part was so sweet.Learning that Harry & Ginny ,and Ron & Hermione lived on happily with their families was a perfect ending

I am grateful for the happy ending

I will admit I was wrong about Snape being a bad guy.But he was still creppy and hateful.

Molly kicked ass !!!!

The Centaurs & house elves kicked ass !!!

Neville kicked ass !!!!

Bryce
***********

" A revolution without dancing ,is a revolution not worth having.." V

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Monday, July 23, 2007 6:36 AM

ZEROKIRYU

Quote:
Originally posted by DeathIsMyGift:
Quote:
Originally posted by TamSibling:
Still, aren't they all about raging hormones? Just kidding ...

Man, I thought the same thing. I told my gf, "Harry is alone with Hermione in that tent for that long and nothing happens? Aren't 17 year old boys only thinking about one thing?" and She said, "Yeah but he has a lot of other things on his mind."

And Harry said that he never thought of her like that, he always thought of her as his sister.

_________________________________________________

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Monday, July 23, 2007 6:40 AM

yeah not every guy is attracted to all women...in fact I don't know any guy 17 or not who'd jump any woman at all...and if he thinks of her as a sister then the thought wouldn't occur to him ( though it appears to have occured to Ron)

LA- oh come on no creepier than Dumbldore wanting to rule the muggles and getting his little sister killed in a fight..and lying to Harry and planning to sacrifice him, and being a bit power mad...actually Dumbledore was scarier to me than Snape. All that under the surface...but I like the theme of redemption and how even after a bad choice or series of bad choices that led you to act or becoem evil, you can still work your way back and make amends and becoem something good

"I'm not all that interested in the mental health of people who want to kill me. "- Leroy Jethro Gibbs

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Monday, July 23, 2007 6:50 AM

You think you know--what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun.

Yeah, I know there were Harry/Hermione 'shippers out there, but they were never the ones who had sexual tension. Not once did he look at her that way, while Ron was starting to stew and act stupid over her by book four.
Even if they had, though, nothing could have really happened because it was a 'kid's book'. This relates back to my mini-rant about a book that really should be adult not being allowed to be adult. Even in Half-Blood Prince, when I'm sure things were getting a little heavy with Ginny, it was all skated over. Most we got was that there were 'stollen moments' and Ginny was asked if it was true Harry had a tattoo on his chest.
Violence okay! No sex, though!

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Monday, July 23, 2007 7:02 AM

LITTLEALBATROSS29

MSg..I admmit Dumbledore was creppy too.But he changed his views & redeemed himself.
As did Snape.

I spent so long not liking him,that I don't know if I can like him ,no mater how he helped.I do admire him though.

What he did to save Harry & help Dumbledore was brave . And it was awesome to see his memories of Lilly's friendship & I even felt bad for him when she told him to go his own way.

I was pleased to be wrong about him

I also thought Harry would die ..and was thrilled to find out at King's Cross that he was only mostly dead

Bryce
********

" A revolution without dancing ,is a revolution not worth having.." V

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Monday, July 23, 2007 7:12 AM

Voldemort: You died, Mister Potter...
Harry: Seemed like the thing to do...

[time passes...]

Harry: You wanna meet the real me now?!

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Monday, July 23, 2007 7:17 AM

RIVERGIRL

Finished Saturday night coz I cant stop reading threads like this

Also, I can kill you with my brain.

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Monday, July 23, 2007 2:32 PM

SAB39 ?

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHaaa, that was great.

PR ?
On thinkin about it, you might be right, my own best guess would be Hagrid having Mundungus slip him a new wand on the sly, and concealing it in the umbrella - that makes the most sense, and being that he was expelled, even if later exonorated and is "not supposed to do magic", and his furtiveness about it, seems to fit that theory pretty good.

Just a thought on the matter.

-F

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Monday, July 23, 2007 5:05 PM

AUDDIE

i was in my car by 12:04 AM saturday morning with my very own copy of deathly hallows. and this.. is from someone who is usually in bed by 9!!!

i finished the book by 11:30 saturday night... would've finished sooner if my sister would have left me alone. every ten minutes she was texting me asking what was happening.. who died and so forth.

everything that happened wasn't too shocking for me. i figured on the people who died (i knew a twin was going to.... think i'm gonna cry again!!!!)

now all that is left is to start the series over again and take my time reading each one.

did anyone else find it a little funny how JKR ended it?

"The scar had not pained Harry for ninteen years. All is well."

think she could write another book when she feels the need????

just makes me wonder (or at least wish.....)

SNAPE IS/WAS GOOD!!!!

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Tuesday, July 24, 2007 2:24 AM

You think you know--what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun.

Quote:
Originally posted by sab39:
Voldemort: You died, Mister Potter...
Harry: Seemed like the thing to do...

OH! Did anyone else kind of sit up straighter when Harry told Hagrid to "just keep flying"?

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Tuesday, July 24, 2007 2:39 AM

RIVERISMYGODDESS

Yeah, Rose, I noticed that too.

SAB39, way too funny.

LA, I am with you, Percy hopping out of that tunnel just made me smile so big. It was even more poingnant when he refused to leave Fred's body for a few moments (did anyone else notice that George was not really present in that scene, or did I just read it too fast?)

I also thought it was a bit creepy that Dumbledore and Grindelwald were working to make "a better world". I kept seeing Chewitel's face playing Grindelwald.

I know I have mentioned it elsewhere, but Dobby was actually the saddest of all the deaths for me.

And Neville certainly kicks ass.

~jimi
We must all fear evil men, but there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men.

Do you want to see more of Magda? Of course you do. We all do. If you are interested in helping our Dear One to get a laptop with wireless connectivity, please contact PhoenixRose.

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Tuesday, July 24, 2007 3:41 AM

MAL4PREZ

So, can I just mention that I picked up my book on a whim Sunday night, when I saw it at Shaw's market? Oh yes, and the card-holder price was $20. (I borrowed a card LOL!)

Anyway, I took yesterday off to read it. Thoroughly enjoyable. The things that bugged me didn't bug me enough to be a problem, because the plot was twisty and turny and fun. (I'm not a huge fan, didn't have a pile of expectations and guesses going into it, I'm sure that helped.)

I mostly enjoyed all the little stories embedded in there, the little backgrounds on people and the three brothers myth and such. I do really like Snape - mostly because Alan Rickman plays him, and I looove his voice.

The depth of Dumbledore, that he's not such a pure, untarnished hero, was fabulous.

But, really, I don't think this a book I'll re-read and love forever. It was totally plot driven, and honestly I didn't feel for any of the characters personally. I felt most of the dialogue was about advancing plot, instead of letting me see more depth in the characters (the kind of thing FF is so good at.)

And the plot got a little too fancy at times. I'll agree with some folks that I saw the hand of the writer a whole lot. Molly at the beginning really annoyed me, keeping the big three separate with wedding chores so they couldn't talk. I mean - not likely! There was a lot of that - little contrived things to slow done the revealing of facts and make time pass so the story would take up the required school year term.

And this confused me: when Harry had his face all whacked out by Hermione's spell, Lucious kept demanding that Draco ID him. Doesn't Lucious know perfectedly well what Harry looks like? I mean, even if it's been a year since he saw him...

The reasoning for Mrs. Malfoy, at the end, calling Harry dead, didn't work for me either. Sure, she wanted to be on the winning side, but the baddies were closer to winning at that point. If she told them Harry wasn't dead, they could finish him off and be the winners, possibly ending the battle right there so she would go rescue Draco. Giving Harry a chance seemed to put Draco in more danger. OK, so maybe V wanted to go after Draco as a failure, but that wasn't the reasoning given.

I just feel that was a big moment, make or break for the whole climax, and it didn't carry for me.

Yeah, so that's a lot of critical, but I did find the book really entertaining. So much pressure and spotlight on Rowling, and I think she lived up to it.

Oh, but the 19 years after happy happy stuff? Hated it.

-----------------------------------------------
hmm-burble-blah, blah-blah-blah, take a left

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Tuesday, July 24, 2007 3:42 AM

WASHSYOUNGERSEXIERBR

Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges

I finished it monday night though i did work 17 hours wanting to be able to read it!

I was surprised how LOW the death toll was! I expected one of the main three to die! Though i was choked up at the death of Dobby and moreso at HEDWIG! How could they???

And i feel sorry for Harrys kid- hes got a godawful name. Albus Severus Potter?

www.myspace.com/didxl

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Tuesday, July 24, 2007 4:05 AM