Firstly, I was AMAZED that there wasn't more comments on here, but I suppose with time differences, alot of people might not have finished the book now! I'm just finished about an hour, I can't believe it's over.... All in all, I loved it, it was so different to all the other books being set outside Hogwarts and stuff and it just seemed like a great end to an amazing series! I was so tense reading it that I'll have to read it again to catch the things I missed. I can understand what you're saying HarryPotterFan, I don't think it dragged as such, I just felt that because I was so anxious to see what happened that I was impatient at the bits that didn't have major action, and I think when I re-read the book, I will appreciate those parts more than the first time.
I have to say that the deaths really moved me, I'll admit I cried more than once, but to me, that's OK cos I have grown up with these characters and there were some pretty sad moments! Fred, Lupin and Tonks really got to me though - Lupin and Tonks were the ones I really wanted to live, especially after the baby (Also, one of my fave bits, when Remus tells them the baby has been born, and Ron goes "Blimey, a baby" as if he's never heard of such a thing! Such a good Ron moment...)
I could talk about it all day, but I won't, I want to see what other people think... Oh hang on, have to comment on something though! RON AND HERMIONE KISSED :) Woo hoo! We all knew it was coming but it was just so great! I think the way it happened was perfect also, suddenly and unexpectledly and because Ron cared about house-elves of all things! Much better than a soppy drawn out romance scene and much more true to the characters of Ron and Hermione!
I also loved the way that everyone showed up in the Room of Requirement (Oliver Wood, yay, I loved him in the previous books), the fact that Neville finally had some confidence in himself and proved how great and loyal he is, loved it! Also, anyone else notice a Luna/Dean thing? Not something I expected but I bet there will be a new fanfic ship soon enough!
This is probably the longest post I've ever written and I could go on, but I'll stop. I don't think I've touched on any of the most important parts, like the storyline stuff and major character development but it's too much for me right now, so tired after the 9 hours of reading non-stop! Can't wait to see what other people thought of the book - sorry about such a long post!!! :D
Oh I forgot about the kiss! It took me by surprise too, I half expected it to happen when Ron returned after deserting them. I definitely agree with tinydancer =)
I was heartened by McGonagall's leadership reaction to the battle and I thought Mrs Weasleys nature(?) when she was fighting Bellatrix was unexpected.
I think my opinion of Dumbledore has changed also...
I thought that my opinion of Dumbledore had changed too HarryPotterFan, but by the end of the book I was back to thinking he was great. I actually liked the fact that he wasn't "perfect" and that he had made mistakes and learned from them. I knew when him and Snape were talking about using Harry that Dumbledore knew that him sacrificing himself would ultimatley save him so I couldn't be mad at him about that.
I agree about when you thought the kiss was going to be, but I liked it much better the way it was! Hermione's reaction when he returned was great, cos you think they're gonna kiss and then she just hits him!! Much more realistic I think :)
McGonagall was great, as always! I was bit suprised by Mrs. Weasley also, but I suppose she had just lost a son and wasn't about to lose another member of her family. I thought it was well written the way that Bellatrix's death echoed Sirius' and that she met her in end in the same way that she had killed him. Nice bit of irony there :)
Actually, one thing I didn't like, and it has nothing to do with the story, is the way the final page of my book is actually stuck to the hard cover? I hate reading books with dust jackets so the first think I did was take mine off, but if I had have read the writing on the dust jacket while still attached to the books I would have seen the last 2 pages! Were all the books like this? I know it's not a huge thing, but I would have been really mad if the dust jacket had of ended up ruining the book for me!! :)
A true griffindor could produce the sword from the sorting hat. Mabye it was transported from the goblins to the hat so nevile could use it.
Gotta say, loved the book. Best of the whole series and more grown up too. More deaths and swearing?!?! well i never.
Ive grown up with harry potter and so we've always been the same age. It was great to see it come to such a great close. And who knows, theyve already established some of the characters, can anyone say "Albus Potter" books?
But my only gripe, why kill hedwig?? there was no need...
I totally agree with the part about Hedwig. I just finished he book ten minutes ago and I am really sad that its over. I have got to say in the 50 pages or so when I thought Hagrid was dead I was almost crying. Also Fred was one of my favorite characters in the book. And was killing Colin Creevey neccesarry? He was cool. But the saddest, or one of the saddest parts of the book was when Dobby died. i was sooooooooo sad. I was almost crying which is really weird for me.
I was really suprised about what Mrs. Weasley said to Bellatrix. That shocked me but I wish Harry had killed her instead of Mrs. Weasley because she killed Sirius and fred and a bunch of other people.
All in all, I am soooooooooooooooo sad that it's over. One thing i wasn't really to happy about was the epilogue. I mean we should have heard more about the publicity harry gets and all the Voldemort details. And what abvout Luna and Dean? Do they have kids?
Well anyway it's been a great ride and I wish it wasn't over, but I know that it is and I accept that,
Wow, I had the strangest day of my life. I was laughing, I was crying, I was squeeing...Deathly Hallows was bloody amazing. A lot of my theories were proven WRONG (such as Harry being the seventh Horcrux) but I was right about Aberforth! This book is so different from the others and I have to say it's definitely my favourite or 2nd favourite after OotP!
One of my favourite things was how JKR shocked us readers by giving us Dumbledore's background, thus readers have to realise that Dumbledore was not the perfect wizard who was totally pure and Muggle-loving but like Tom Riddle and other brilliant wizards, his younger years were plagued by ambition and arrogance. I'm glad that Dumbledore learned from his family's deaths but it just shows how brilliant JKR's characters are because ALL of them have flaws.
I can see what people mean by the book being dragged in the middle. However, I was so excited about just reading DH it didn't really matter to me. Besides, I loved the middle - it was very angsty and character-driven and Harry's hopelessness just broke my heart. One of my favourite moments was when Ron saves Harry's life and destroys the Horcrux - it was the biggest test Ron has ever had to face and he overcame it, such a great moment for Ron. It was ultimately Ron's redemption after his departure, which broke my heart and was just horrible, to see the trio being more snappy towards each other. And who could forget the Ron/Hermione moment we've been waiting for! Such a great moment, it was utterly perfect and totally R/Hr, being brought upon by House-Elves.
On another note, I just read an interview with Rupert Grint and he said that he's different from Ron because he thinks that Ron's not very brave and on the wimpy side! HE'S GOT RON TOTALLY WRONG, THE IDIOT! I don't think he's worthy to play Ron anymore...
Deaths - I was very shocked at the way JKR wrote Hedwig's death - it was very quick and abrupt and since it was in the middle of a battle, there was basically no time to grieve. whatcha55, I think JKR chose to kill off Hedwig because Hedwig represents Harry's childhood innocence and he doesn't have that anymore in DH so it may be a symbolic death, I dunno. I was very sad about Mad-Eye's death but I think that he'd rather die in battle than anything else so he would be kind of happy, I guess. Dobby's death shocked me and another favourite moment was when Griphook talks about how Harry is an odd wizard because of his compassion for others, a great Harry moment. Fred's was horrible and I think that was the second time I cried, the first being when Ron was bellowing "HERMIONE!" as she was being tortured - even now, it brings tears to my eyes. I'm so glad Percy was redeemed although it was a tad bit rushed and it broke my heart when I read Percy's reaction to Fred's death. I think Remus' and Tonks' deaths shook me the most because they're one of my favourite characters and they had such a bright future ahead of them, with Teddy Lupin and others. One of the reasons why it shook me the most was because JKR didn't even show how they died, she just showed their bodies lying next to Fred's and how they looked peaceful, I just burst into tears. Also, Remus' outburst at Grimmauld Place shook me and broke my heart because he's such a good man and it just feels wrong to kill off a man who was just finding his happiness at last.
Harry's 'death' - this totally shocked me (I didn't think he would be a Horcrux but damn, I was wrong) and I was just sobbing when he was going to face Voldemort with his parents, Sirius and Remus by his side. I was so bloody scared and I was actually saying, "Please don't die please don't die..." I was so happy when he woke up and spoke to Dumbledore, it was one of my favourite chapters.
Plot - it actually felt a bit fanfic-ish but of course, all fanfics lack JKR's signature warmth and character details and everything else that is HP. I was totally shocked by the Deathly Hallows but I had no idea what they were. The thing is, all the fanfics I've read so far put so much focus on the Horcruxes and how hard it is. The way JKR writes it, it's actually very quick and, in a way, she puts more focus on character development.
Snape - so he did turn out to be good! I'm glad so many fans are pleased by that. I'm sad to say that I was wrong, Snape did love Lily but one of my favourite chapters was The Prince's Tale, it's just such a good insight into Snape's character and what drives his actions - LadyLupin on MuggleNet was right about him (she's the writer on Spinner's End). I really wish there was more I could say about him but that just sums it up. Oh wait, his death shocked me, such a brutal way to die but in a way it was fitting that Snape saw Harry before he died and gave him his memories and said nothing else.
Harry/Ginny romance - I was disappointed by the lack of Ginny in this book but I was very pleased that JKR chose to involve the romance, instead of cutting all ties between them. My heart broke when Harry took out the Marauder's Map and followed Ginny's dot, it was so poignant and I hope it convinced non-believers that their romance isn't just a high school fling, they really are in love. I burst out laughing when Harry told Viktor that Ginny was seeing a big, jealous-y bloke and I was totally squeeing when they kissed and all.
Other things - I was quite surprised to see Mrs Weasley duel Bellatrix but it was awesome because we get to see that Mrs Weasley is indeed a powerful witch in her own right and not just a housewife. I was surprised because I thought Neville would face Bellatrix but I guess it's a bit out-of-character because Neville is not the type to seek revenge. I agree with tinydancer, it was great to see Neville being really confident and a leader of the DA, and essentially, Hogwarts. McGonagall was awesome, as well as Flitwick and Sprout, and it was great to see them duel Snape. The epilogue was really good because it was really simple and just focused on family and love, it wasn't filled with details about every character's job and future. I burst out laughing when James discovered Teddy Lupin snogging Victoire, he is sooo Ron, like Ginny said.
Overall, DH was an amazing book filled with action and plot twists but at the same time, it's very character-driven and angsty yet warm and I think it's definitely a great end to an epic series.
Yeah, I think so...maybe it was the part of Voldemort's soul that had been inside Harry?
I'm going to read the book again anyway, just to make sure I got every little thing. I thought overall the book was AMAZING, it was so dramatic, and I love the parts when everybody just starts coming into Hogwarts, people staying behind to fight and everything. I also liked that Percy came back finally (but it was so SAD that Fred died)- I KNEW Snape wasn't really evil!! Why else would Dumbledore have trusted him so much? And the barman in the Hog's Head is actually Dumbledore's brother- I never would have guessed that! And that story about the Deathly Hallows, just made the whole book seem more mysterious, and made everything seem more like a huge Quest, if you know what I mean. And all those deaths as well- Mad Eye Moody, Dobby, Lupin, Tonks, Fred, even Snape- they were all so sad. There were a whole load of emotional moments in the book. (I can't believe I read it all with one go...didn't even realise I hadn't eaten anything or gone to the bathroom- lol)
a-bloody fucking-mazing. i cried like a baby. honestly i couldnt start.
HA u no when i started crying the most? loool ron/hermione kiss. i was laughing and crying at the same time. i mena FOR 7 BOOKS WEVE BEEN WAITING FOR (as harry put it) the moment. i was so overjoyed.
and ok im glad im not the only one that cried really hard. the thing about snape and lily was SO SAD. so so so so so utterly sad. poor snape, really. you have to feel for him. :(:(:(:( anyway. fred dying was just cruel. pure cruelty. i couldnt take it. i had to stop reading for a bit.
I LOVED that percy came back. and realised that he was a dick. and luna was brilliant. (luna and dean? i like it. but hey i prefer neville!) i adored the scene when nevilles grandmother asked where he was and harry was like 'fighting' and she said naturally. she was so proud, you could tell. which is really the highest praise to neville. he was amazing in this book.
i think they should have allowed ginny a bit more action she REALLY shouldnt have been kept away from all the fighting scenes. becuz face it, shes no damsel in distress. the h/g moments where really sweet.... but a little stalker on harrys part ;) looool it was great that you finally found out all about sevvies and dumbies lives :) dumbledore became so much more than just an idol to look up to in this book. you realised he was more human. i always sort of realised lupin would go, becuase shes slowly killed off all the mauraders. so it had to happen. but i cant beleive there kidwas left behind. THAT was sad. :'(
id liek to also again mention neville becuase i think out of all the books HES grown the most. from that scared shy little school boy, to fighitng for what he beleives him. and then he gets to be a TEACEHR! go neville!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i really liked the ending. where u see them and their kids. the best part was when ron said the bit about him being 'really famous' LOL, over all i loved this book.
it was great. great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great
phewww this comments long anyway
ID LIEK TO THANK FAN POP FOR LETTING ME VENT ABOUT THE BEAUTY OF HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS.
anway, i think Jo should log on and read about how much we appreciate these books. weve stuck to them 1 all the way through 7
i was so convinced that snape was evil...but his story was so sad. in the epiloge (i know thats spelled wrong) when harry calls him albus severus and how he was the bravest man he knew...i just burst into tears.
also when harry is going into the forest with james lily sirius and lupin, and when harry asked sirius if it hurts to die, that was just so sad for me! i wonder if harry ever told anyone that he talked with dumbledore when he was, for lack of a better word, dead..?
im so glad they kept dumbledore as a major role in this book, he was one of my favorite characters and i wouldnt like it if they cut him out. the shard of sirius' mirror freaked me out before i knew it was aberforth. i thought it was really dumbledore and just his eye? kinda creepy.
im really glad that lupin died. now he is with his best friends again, although its sad that he had to leave teddy, but harry will take good care of him. it just broke my heart when harry called remus a coward in grimmald place, and then on potterwatch how he said those things about harry. i just felt so bad for harry because i knew he was just saying them because he knew what it felt like to grow up without parents, and he didnt want that to happen to teddy. it did anyway, oh well he got remus to go back to tonks. when he tells harry he is the godfather is one of my favorite parts.
ahh i have to go reread! talking about it again makes me need to read it again!!
First of all, go Neville. I was so proud of Neville, and when he lopped of Nagini's head, that made me cry. I have always paid close attention to Neville, probably because he has been like the underdog, but also because the movies don't give him the same attention the books do. If you reread, you will see that despite the other three being extremely close, Neville is almost always there. I think book 7 just reinforces what JK was doing throughout and a lot of people miss.
Ok, Snape. Ohhh, I will not lie, I have been a Snape HATER from the get go. I always saw him as vindictive and hateful, and I felt from book 1 that he only helped and protected Harry begrudgingly and almost out of spite for his father. My best friend TOLD me repeatedly that despite killing Dumbledor, that there would be a reason. I wouldn't hear it, I couldn't. I fought the truth so hard, but by the end of the Princ's Tale, I was in tears. I couldn't hate him when all he did he did for love. I hate being wrong.
Also wrong on...the horcrux. Again, same brilliant friend gave me the theory that Harry was an unintentionally created horcrux, but I would not hear it. I was convinced that horcruxes were advanced and complicated magic and could not accor by accident. Damn I hate being wrong. I guess I couldn't bear for that to be an option because I knew, as Dumbledor told Snape, that Harry would have to die.
The "death" scene. Not the talk with Dumbledor, which was great, but the aftermath. I would think that the collapse of Voldemort would send his Death Eaters fleeing, and that they shouldhave known something was askwe. I can say that I knew from the first descriptions that it was Malfoy's mom and she would lie. I entered the book knowing that the redemption JK teased us with would come to either Malfoy or Snape, and I didn't want either to have it. I guess I am vindictive, huh? I do not begrudge Snape's redemption, as I said, but I still think Malfoy should have bit it because even in the epilogue he was curt and frigid.
Who else LOVED NEville's grandmother? How awesome was she. I got goose bumps when he said she told him his parents would be proud. I know how proud I was when he was going on abouthis rebellion.
Ok, the moment that made me the warmest was of course when Harry reentered Hogwarts. I was already on the verge of tears when the DA turned out in force, plus some, but I lost it when Minerva McGonagall saw him. I always saw her just as much as a matronly figure to Harry as Dumbledor was the fatherly figure. I knew she cared deeply for him from page 1 of book 1, and I had to pause to read on.
Anything else? Oh yes, the finaly duel was, as duckgoddess said, amazingly simple, but the key word is amazing. I love that nobody butted in, I loved to logic, how Harry played with Vs mind before he took him out, but that was not the best part of it to me. To me, the best and most significant aprt of that duel is that when they did fire curses, Harry DID NOT fire a killing curse. That, my friends, is the essense of Harry.
Okay, here goes..I loved every bit of the book EXCEPT the epilogue. It seemed rushed and slightly confusing as well. There was too much left open there and we never even found out what happens to Luna.
Anyway, YAY, i always knew Snape would be good! The chapter, The Prince's Tale, was one of the best in the book, in my opinion. I always suspected that Snape loved Lily, but not on this big a scale. It was absolutely heartbreaking when Snape made Harry look into his eyes when he died, because they looked like Lily's. I almost lost it then. :'(
NevilleLover, i agree with you, Neville was FANTASTIC in this book! It was so great to see him grow up like this and become sort of the leader of the DA. And his grandmother was FINALLY so proud of him! I seriously thought he was going to die when he went up to Voldemort and said he would only join the Death Eaters when hell froze over. AND he destroys one of the Horcruxes!!!! Go Neville!
Oh yeah, Dumbledore's back-story was really interesting. I was really happy that JKR didn't keep Dumbledore in our minds as a completely perfect person who was always fighting for good. When i first read about "Dumbledore's betrayal" in the chapter, "The Prince's Tale", i didn't want to believe it. I could not believe that Dumbledore would use Harry like that. Thank goodness that it was all part of his "master plan".
Ron and Hermione's kiss was so sweet! It was really funny as well because it was all because off house elves and also Harry said something to the effect of, "Couldn't you wait until later?". LOL.
When Harry was in the Ravenclaw Common Room and that Death Eater spat in Professor McGonagall's face, i was so glad Harry took of his Cloak and cursed him, because i thought something had to be done. And like NevilleLover says, Prof.McGonagall really does care for Harry and that is shown from book 1. I also thought the duel between Snape and McGonagall was really cool, though i wish it could have been a little longer. We finally got to see how powerful she could be.
I was so happy that the final battle was at Hogwarts, but i just kept hoping that the school wouldn't be damaged beyond repair..thank goodness it wasn't. :)
I absolutely loved Mrs Weasley and Bellatrix's duel. Mrs Weasley's line, "GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!" was one of my favourites in the book. I always wondered where Ginny had got her power from and i think that if any of Molly's family was hurt, she would let loose.
Harry and Voldemort's final duel was, like duckgoddess said, fantastically simple, but i think that's how it was supposed to be. Voldemort did not even have a wand that worked properly for him.
I was so freaking sad at the deaths. I cried quite a lot when Fred died and then more over Tonks and Lupin. Fred and Tonks are high up on my list of favourite characters. Dobby and Hedwig's death was really sad as well. :'(
So, i thought that the book was fantastic but i really really wish the epilogue had been better. It seemed weird..because after Voldemort was killed, there were 10 more pages or so and then the book was over. I would have liked to see more of what had happened after the battle and know things like who became the knew Headmaster of Hogwarts (though i'm sure it would be Prof.McGonagall) and what happened to the Weasleys. I think another chapter after the battle would have been better than just going straight to the epilogue.
i'm hoping someone can answer this question. remember when ron opened the chamber of secrets using mock parseltounge. on wikipedia it says that you must be a true parseltounge to open the chamber. how was ron able to open it?
Yeah, McGonagall was so awesome in this book, I would have loved to see more of their duel, I bet McGonagall would have kicked Snape's ass!
Hey, was "Get away from my daughter, you bitch!" in the children's edition? I also seem to remember Ron calling Malfoy a 'two-faced bastard' in the adult edition.
caintil31 - I guess now Wikipedia's wrong cos what JKR says/writes is canon. Ron basically remembered the hissing noise Harry made when he opened the Horcrux and imitated him.
First off, Wikipedia is a site where anyone can write about a subject and it doesnt have to be true.
For me the saddest death was Dobby's. It wasnt instant like the killing curse. He was covered in blood with a knife sticking out of his chest. Pluse he died saving Harry.
One more thing, Does anyone else think that when Ginny was talking to Harry about giving him a gift he "couldnt lose," and then started kissing him, she was about to give up her virginity? just a thought
Lupin's pseudonym- Romulous. Gotta love J.K.
Harry attacking the death eater for spittting in McGonagall's face. Awwwwww.
omg, snape's memories!!! I can't believe he used to be so close to Lily!
There were so many great things. I do have a couple complaints, though.
The entire time they have the locket, the book takes a LOTR turn. It turns the wearer meaner and more paranoid. Causes arguments. And my God, the scene where Harry is begging Ron to destroy it- I'm just thankful she decided NOT to set it in a volcano. She could have been more creative in some aspects, maybe...
Dumbledore's speech at the end. She uses several pages just so that Harry can imagine Dumbledore perfectly wrapping up every mystery from Deathly Hallows (but missing a few from the series...). That was a little too scooby doo for me. Half expected him to rip off Voldemort's mask and reveal that it had been Flitwick all along!
Finally, the epilogue was awful. Everyone ended up with their high school sweethearts, no one else had died in the 19 years, all the children were friends/lovers. How nice and clean. *eye roll* Come on, I want to know what some of them did with their lives! It was very hurried, with little creativity. I'm hoping for something more substantial in her upcoming book.
Aww, Fred??? I cried and cried over Fred. And poor Teddy, left without parents. =(
Well I think I loved every bit of it. I've decided its the best book I've read... which isn't that surprising cos Harry Potter has always been my favourite series.
I loved Ron and Hermione in book 6 but this was SO GREAT! The kiss wasn't soppy it was actually pretty funny with Harry saying "OI! There's a war going on here!" it made me laugh lol.
Then it got ruined when FRED DIED!! That was TERRIBLE! I really don't think Deathly Hallows was a kids story! So many people died! It was SO SAD I LOVED LUPIN! But at least Harry was Teddy's Godfather that was really sweet.
Basically I loved all the love. I can't go into it it'll be longer than everyone elses lol.
I'm excited to re-read the book so I can catch all the little details I missed the first time. I admit I rushed in some parts because I kept wanting to get to the ending battle. Anyway, I was heartbroken with all the characters who died, especially Tonks and Lupin. Poor Lupin had such a rough life and just as he had finally found some happiness...I can't even go on. I was on tenderhooks through the whole book because I knew that any of the characters could die. I was worried for awhile when Bellatrix was torturing Hermoine...I thought for sure she was dead. However, as much tragedy as there was in this book, there was plenty of great one-liners and moments that just made me laugh. Potterwatch was hilarious!
I was both thrilled and saddened by Snape's memories. I actually hurt for Snape, who spent his entire life loving the one woman he could never have. While her death might have caused smaller men to just go on with their lives, Snape devoted his entire existence to doing what he knew Lily would want him to do. And when he had Harry look into his eyes so the last thing he saw before he died was Lily's eyes...I'm getting teary-eyed just thinking about it. I'm going to have to re-read the first book and see how Snape reacted when he first saw Harry's eyes.
I have always been a big Ron/Hermoine fan and I was happy to see that Ron was trying his best to win her over. He was constantly comforting her and Harry even thought they might have fallen asleep holding hands. I'm glad they didn't have Hermoine and Ron "hook up" until the end...it would have made their quest a little more awkward. Of course, I was pretty sure that once Ron started talking about saving the house elves, that was all Hermoine would need. It was so sweet!
The Ginny/Harry plotline was subtle, but sweet. It was great when Harry told Viktor that Ginny had a burly boyfriend and then when Ginny insisted Luna take Harry to the Ravenclaw common room, not Cho. Some might say that you rarely end up with your childhood sweetheart, but I think it makes sense both Harry and Ginny and Ron and Hermoine ended up together. They went through a lot together and proved that nothing could seperate them.
I knew once JK told us that Harry had to die in order to finish off Voldemort that Harry would be okay. No way JK would have been so straightforward about the death of our hero. There had to be a loophole. I knew Dumbledore would never just send Harry off to his death like that. And when he pretended to be dead, and then revealed himself to the school, I actually was cheering with everyone else. It was a great final battle and I'm glad that Harry never actually had to kill anyone.
As many have stated above, Neville was so great in this book. His journey these seven years has been as amazing as Harry's. He went from a small, shy boy to a leader and eventually a teacher. Neville was the one person I would have thought to scared to fight off Death Eaters, but he was definitely his father and mother's child. I even like to think that he and Luna got together. :)
The epilogue was a bit confusing at first. I had to slow down and re-read it so I could make sure I had it all straight. It was slightly weird to hear Harry talking to Lily, James and Albus. My absolute favorite line of the entire book came at the end, when Harry told Albus Severus that he was named after two Hogwarts headmasters and one was a Slyterin and he was "the bravest man I ever knew." Here come the waterworks!!
I'm terribly sad it is over. Now all I have to look forward to are the final movies. And the encyclopedia, of course. I hope it will tell us what Harry does for a living. And Ron and Hermoine. There was so much emphasis in book 5 about what there professions would be, I really want to know. Clearly they didn't become professors like Neville, or they would have been aboard the train or already at Hogwarts. Anyway, LOVED THE BOOK. Best one yet, JK!!
I loved it and I can't believe I read it in one day. Two comments though -- (1) I wish she hadn't left such a bad taste in my mouth about Harry's dad, James. In Snape's memories he is such a jerk. (2) It almost seems like Neville is the example of how Snape could have been if James' and his friends had been nicer to him instead of picking on him. Snape was always the outsider, but always around -- kind of like Neville throughout all of the books. But instead of being mean, Harry and Ron and Hermione were always nice and supportive of Neville rather than mean. And he got to be a huge, confident hero in the end...... Just a thought.
i actually though that the 7th wasnt as good as the 6th. the 6th book made me really feel for all the characters. In the 7th, i only felt for harry...when fred died, hedwig, etc, i didnt really feel anything. But in the 6th when albus died i cried so hard...i felt sad for DAYS. the 7th book never made me cry and i felt that at the end skipping 19 years kinda sucked. i wish the very end of the book showed more of how their lived were rather then the kids going to hogwarts
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I have to say that the deaths really moved me, I'll admit I cried more than once, but to me, that's OK cos I have grown up with these characters and there were some pretty sad moments! Fred, Lupin and Tonks really got to me though - Lupin and Tonks were the ones I really wanted to live, especially after the baby (Also, one of my fave bits, when Remus tells them the baby has been born, and Ron goes "Blimey, a baby" as if he's never heard of such a thing! Such a good Ron moment...)
I could talk about it all day, but I won't, I want to see what other people think... Oh hang on, have to comment on something though! RON AND HERMIONE KISSED :) Woo hoo! We all knew it was coming but it was just so great! I think the way it happened was perfect also, suddenly and unexpectledly and because Ron cared about house-elves of all things! Much better than a soppy drawn out romance scene and much more true to the characters of Ron and Hermione!
I also loved the way that everyone showed up in the Room of Requirement (Oliver Wood, yay, I loved him in the previous books), the fact that Neville finally had some confidence in himself and proved how great and loyal he is, loved it! Also, anyone else notice a Luna/Dean thing? Not something I expected but I bet there will be a new fanfic ship soon enough!
This is probably the longest post I've ever written and I could go on, but I'll stop. I don't think I've touched on any of the most important parts, like the storyline stuff and major character development but it's too much for me right now, so tired after the 9 hours of reading non-stop! Can't wait to see what other people thought of the book - sorry about such a long post!!! :D
I was heartened by McGonagall's leadership reaction to the battle and I thought Mrs Weasleys nature(?) when she was fighting Bellatrix was unexpected.
I think my opinion of Dumbledore has changed also...
I agree about when you thought the kiss was going to be, but I liked it much better the way it was! Hermione's reaction when he returned was great, cos you think they're gonna kiss and then she just hits him!! Much more realistic I think :)
McGonagall was great, as always! I was bit suprised by Mrs. Weasley also, but I suppose she had just lost a son and wasn't about to lose another member of her family. I thought it was well written the way that Bellatrix's death echoed Sirius' and that she met her in end in the same way that she had killed him. Nice bit of irony there :)
Actually, one thing I didn't like, and it has nothing to do with the story, is the way the final page of my book is actually stuck to the hard cover? I hate reading books with dust jackets so the first think I did was take mine off, but if I had have read the writing on the dust jacket while still attached to the books I would have seen the last 2 pages! Were all the books like this? I know it's not a huge thing, but I would have been really mad if the dust jacket had of ended up ruining the book for me!! :)
Gotta say, loved the book. Best of the whole series and more grown up too. More deaths and swearing?!?! well i never.
Ive grown up with harry potter and so we've always been the same age. It was great to see it come to such a great close. And who knows, theyve already established some of the characters, can anyone say "Albus Potter" books?
But my only gripe, why kill hedwig?? there was no need...
I was really suprised about what Mrs. Weasley said to Bellatrix. That shocked me but I wish Harry had killed her instead of Mrs. Weasley because she killed Sirius and fred and a bunch of other people.
All in all, I am soooooooooooooooo sad that it's over. One thing i wasn't really to happy about was the epilogue. I mean we should have heard more about the publicity harry gets and all the Voldemort details. And what abvout Luna and Dean? Do they have kids?
Well anyway it's been a great ride and I wish it wasn't over, but I know that it is and I accept that,
One of my favourite things was how JKR shocked us readers by giving us Dumbledore's background, thus readers have to realise that Dumbledore was not the perfect wizard who was totally pure and Muggle-loving but like Tom Riddle and other brilliant wizards, his younger years were plagued by ambition and arrogance. I'm glad that Dumbledore learned from his family's deaths but it just shows how brilliant JKR's characters are because ALL of them have flaws.
I can see what people mean by the book being dragged in the middle. However, I was so excited about just reading DH it didn't really matter to me. Besides, I loved the middle - it was very angsty and character-driven and Harry's hopelessness just broke my heart. One of my favourite moments was when Ron saves Harry's life and destroys the Horcrux - it was the biggest test Ron has ever had to face and he overcame it, such a great moment for Ron. It was ultimately Ron's redemption after his departure, which broke my heart and was just horrible, to see the trio being more snappy towards each other. And who could forget the Ron/Hermione moment we've been waiting for! Such a great moment, it was utterly perfect and totally R/Hr, being brought upon by House-Elves.
On another note, I just read an interview with Rupert Grint and he said that he's different from Ron because he thinks that Ron's not very brave and on the wimpy side! HE'S GOT RON TOTALLY WRONG, THE IDIOT! I don't think he's worthy to play Ron anymore...
Deaths - I was very shocked at the way JKR wrote Hedwig's death - it was very quick and abrupt and since it was in the middle of a battle, there was basically no time to grieve. whatcha55, I think JKR chose to kill off Hedwig because Hedwig represents Harry's childhood innocence and he doesn't have that anymore in DH so it may be a symbolic death, I dunno. I was very sad about Mad-Eye's death but I think that he'd rather die in battle than anything else so he would be kind of happy, I guess. Dobby's death shocked me and another favourite moment was when Griphook talks about how Harry is an odd wizard because of his compassion for others, a great Harry moment. Fred's was horrible and I think that was the second time I cried, the first being when Ron was bellowing "HERMIONE!" as she was being tortured - even now, it brings tears to my eyes. I'm so glad Percy was redeemed although it was a tad bit rushed and it broke my heart when I read Percy's reaction to Fred's death. I think Remus' and Tonks' deaths shook me the most because they're one of my favourite characters and they had such a bright future ahead of them, with Teddy Lupin and others. One of the reasons why it shook me the most was because JKR didn't even show how they died, she just showed their bodies lying next to Fred's and how they looked peaceful, I just burst into tears. Also, Remus' outburst at Grimmauld Place shook me and broke my heart because he's such a good man and it just feels wrong to kill off a man who was just finding his happiness at last.
Harry's 'death' - this totally shocked me (I didn't think he would be a Horcrux but damn, I was wrong) and I was just sobbing when he was going to face Voldemort with his parents, Sirius and Remus by his side. I was so bloody scared and I was actually saying, "Please don't die please don't die..." I was so happy when he woke up and spoke to Dumbledore, it was one of my favourite chapters.
Plot - it actually felt a bit fanfic-ish but of course, all fanfics lack JKR's signature warmth and character details and everything else that is HP. I was totally shocked by the Deathly Hallows but I had no idea what they were. The thing is, all the fanfics I've read so far put so much focus on the Horcruxes and how hard it is. The way JKR writes it, it's actually very quick and, in a way, she puts more focus on character development.
Snape - so he did turn out to be good! I'm glad so many fans are pleased by that. I'm sad to say that I was wrong, Snape did love Lily but one of my favourite chapters was The Prince's Tale, it's just such a good insight into Snape's character and what drives his actions - LadyLupin on MuggleNet was right about him (she's the writer on Spinner's End). I really wish there was more I could say about him but that just sums it up. Oh wait, his death shocked me, such a brutal way to die but in a way it was fitting that Snape saw Harry before he died and gave him his memories and said nothing else.
Harry/Ginny romance - I was disappointed by the lack of Ginny in this book but I was very pleased that JKR chose to involve the romance, instead of cutting all ties between them. My heart broke when Harry took out the Marauder's Map and followed Ginny's dot, it was so poignant and I hope it convinced non-believers that their romance isn't just a high school fling, they really are in love. I burst out laughing when Harry told Viktor that Ginny was seeing a big, jealous-y bloke and I was totally squeeing when they kissed and all.
Other things - I was quite surprised to see Mrs Weasley duel Bellatrix but it was awesome because we get to see that Mrs Weasley is indeed a powerful witch in her own right and not just a housewife. I was surprised because I thought Neville would face Bellatrix but I guess it's a bit out-of-character because Neville is not the type to seek revenge. I agree with tinydancer, it was great to see Neville being really confident and a leader of the DA, and essentially, Hogwarts. McGonagall was awesome, as well as Flitwick and Sprout, and it was great to see them duel Snape. The epilogue was really good because it was really simple and just focused on family and love, it wasn't filled with details about every character's job and future. I burst out laughing when James discovered Teddy Lupin snogging Victoire, he is sooo Ron, like Ginny said.
Overall, DH was an amazing book filled with action and plot twists but at the same time, it's very character-driven and angsty yet warm and I think it's definitely a great end to an epic series.
(Sorry about the gushing, I just love it so much)
I'm going to read the book again anyway, just to make sure I got every little thing. I thought overall the book was AMAZING, it was so dramatic, and I love the parts when everybody just starts coming into Hogwarts, people staying behind to fight and everything. I also liked that Percy came back finally (but it was so SAD that Fred died)- I KNEW Snape wasn't really evil!! Why else would Dumbledore have trusted him so much? And the barman in the Hog's Head is actually Dumbledore's brother- I never would have guessed that! And that story about the Deathly Hallows, just made the whole book seem more mysterious, and made everything seem more like a huge Quest, if you know what I mean. And all those deaths as well- Mad Eye Moody, Dobby, Lupin, Tonks, Fred, even Snape- they were all so sad. There were a whole load of emotional moments in the book. (I can't believe I read it all with one go...didn't even realise I hadn't eaten anything or gone to the bathroom- lol)
a-bloody fucking-mazing. i cried like a baby. honestly i couldnt start.
HA u no when i started crying the most? loool ron/hermione kiss. i was laughing and crying at the same time. i mena FOR 7 BOOKS WEVE BEEN WAITING FOR (as harry put it) the moment. i was so overjoyed.
and ok im glad im not the only one that cried really hard. the thing about snape and lily was SO SAD. so so so so so utterly sad. poor snape, really. you have to feel for him. :(:(:(:( anyway. fred dying was just cruel. pure cruelty. i couldnt take it. i had to stop reading for a bit.
I LOVED that percy came back. and realised that he was a dick. and luna was brilliant. (luna and dean? i like it. but hey i prefer neville!) i adored the scene when nevilles grandmother asked where he was and harry was like 'fighting' and she said naturally. she was so proud, you could tell. which is really the highest praise to neville. he was amazing in this book.
i think they should have allowed ginny a bit more action she REALLY shouldnt have been kept away from all the fighting scenes. becuz face it, shes no damsel in distress. the h/g moments where really sweet.... but a little stalker on harrys part ;) looool it was great that you finally found out all about sevvies and dumbies lives :) dumbledore became so much more than just an idol to look up to in this book. you realised he was more human. i always sort of realised lupin would go, becuase shes slowly killed off all the mauraders. so it had to happen. but i cant beleive there kidwas left behind. THAT was sad. :'(
id liek to also again mention neville becuase i think out of all the books HES grown the most. from that scared shy little school boy, to fighitng for what he beleives him. and then he gets to be a TEACEHR! go neville!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i really liked the ending. where u see them and their kids. the best part was when ron said the bit about him being 'really famous' LOL, over all i loved this book.
it was great. great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great
phewww this comments long anyway
ID LIEK TO THANK FAN POP FOR LETTING ME VENT ABOUT THE BEAUTY OF HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS.
anway, i think Jo should log on and read about how much we appreciate these books. weve stuck to them 1 all the way through 7
and im still gonna be crying because its over.
so thank you. for one hell of a ride <3
i loved that mrs. weasley killed bellatrix. becuase it showed how much she loves her family.
ahh such a great book...im so sorry its all over
i was so convinced that snape was evil...but his story was so sad. in the epiloge (i know thats spelled wrong) when harry calls him albus severus and how he was the bravest man he knew...i just burst into tears.
also when harry is going into the forest with james lily sirius and lupin, and when harry asked sirius if it hurts to die, that was just so sad for me! i wonder if harry ever told anyone that he talked with dumbledore when he was, for lack of a better word, dead..?
im so glad they kept dumbledore as a major role in this book, he was one of my favorite characters and i wouldnt like it if they cut him out. the shard of sirius' mirror freaked me out before i knew it was aberforth. i thought it was really dumbledore and just his eye? kinda creepy.
im really glad that lupin died. now he is with his best friends again, although its sad that he had to leave teddy, but harry will take good care of him. it just broke my heart when harry called remus a coward in grimmald place, and then on potterwatch how he said those things about harry. i just felt so bad for harry because i knew he was just saying them because he knew what it felt like to grow up without parents, and he didnt want that to happen to teddy. it did anyway, oh well he got remus to go back to tonks. when he tells harry he is the godfather is one of my favorite parts.
ahh i have to go reread! talking about it again makes me need to read it again!!
Did anyone else think that the 'duel' between Voldemort and Harry was amazingly simple?
Ok, Snape. Ohhh, I will not lie, I have been a Snape HATER from the get go. I always saw him as vindictive and hateful, and I felt from book 1 that he only helped and protected Harry begrudgingly and almost out of spite for his father. My best friend TOLD me repeatedly that despite killing Dumbledor, that there would be a reason. I wouldn't hear it, I couldn't. I fought the truth so hard, but by the end of the Princ's Tale, I was in tears. I couldn't hate him when all he did he did for love. I hate being wrong.
Also wrong on...the horcrux. Again, same brilliant friend gave me the theory that Harry was an unintentionally created horcrux, but I would not hear it. I was convinced that horcruxes were advanced and complicated magic and could not accor by accident. Damn I hate being wrong. I guess I couldn't bear for that to be an option because I knew, as Dumbledor told Snape, that Harry would have to die.
The "death" scene. Not the talk with Dumbledor, which was great, but the aftermath. I would think that the collapse of Voldemort would send his Death Eaters fleeing, and that they shouldhave known something was askwe. I can say that I knew from the first descriptions that it was Malfoy's mom and she would lie. I entered the book knowing that the redemption JK teased us with would come to either Malfoy or Snape, and I didn't want either to have it. I guess I am vindictive, huh? I do not begrudge Snape's redemption, as I said, but I still think Malfoy should have bit it because even in the epilogue he was curt and frigid.
Who else LOVED NEville's grandmother? How awesome was she. I got goose bumps when he said she told him his parents would be proud. I know how proud I was when he was going on abouthis rebellion.
Ok, the moment that made me the warmest was of course when Harry reentered Hogwarts. I was already on the verge of tears when the DA turned out in force, plus some, but I lost it when Minerva McGonagall saw him. I always saw her just as much as a matronly figure to Harry as Dumbledor was the fatherly figure. I knew she cared deeply for him from page 1 of book 1, and I had to pause to read on.
Anything else? Oh yes, the finaly duel was, as duckgoddess said, amazingly simple, but the key word is amazing. I love that nobody butted in, I loved to logic, how Harry played with Vs mind before he took him out, but that was not the best part of it to me. To me, the best and most significant aprt of that duel is that when they did fire curses, Harry DID NOT fire a killing curse. That, my friends, is the essense of Harry.
Anyway, YAY, i always knew Snape would be good! The chapter, The Prince's Tale, was one of the best in the book, in my opinion. I always suspected that Snape loved Lily, but not on this big a scale. It was absolutely heartbreaking when Snape made Harry look into his eyes when he died, because they looked like Lily's. I almost lost it then. :'(
NevilleLover, i agree with you, Neville was FANTASTIC in this book! It was so great to see him grow up like this and become sort of the leader of the DA. And his grandmother was FINALLY so proud of him! I seriously thought he was going to die when he went up to Voldemort and said he would only join the Death Eaters when hell froze over. AND he destroys one of the Horcruxes!!!! Go Neville!
Oh yeah, Dumbledore's back-story was really interesting. I was really happy that JKR didn't keep Dumbledore in our minds as a completely perfect person who was always fighting for good. When i first read about "Dumbledore's betrayal" in the chapter, "The Prince's Tale", i didn't want to believe it. I could not believe that Dumbledore would use Harry like that. Thank goodness that it was all part of his "master plan".
Ron and Hermione's kiss was so sweet! It was really funny as well because it was all because off house elves and also Harry said something to the effect of, "Couldn't you wait until later?". LOL.
When Harry was in the Ravenclaw Common Room and that Death Eater spat in Professor McGonagall's face, i was so glad Harry took of his Cloak and cursed him, because i thought something had to be done. And like NevilleLover says, Prof.McGonagall really does care for Harry and that is shown from book 1. I also thought the duel between Snape and McGonagall was really cool, though i wish it could have been a little longer. We finally got to see how powerful she could be.
I was so happy that the final battle was at Hogwarts, but i just kept hoping that the school wouldn't be damaged beyond repair..thank goodness it wasn't. :)
I absolutely loved Mrs Weasley and Bellatrix's duel. Mrs Weasley's line, "GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!" was one of my favourites in the book. I always wondered where Ginny had got her power from and i think that if any of Molly's family was hurt, she would let loose.
Harry and Voldemort's final duel was, like duckgoddess said, fantastically simple, but i think that's how it was supposed to be. Voldemort did not even have a wand that worked properly for him.
I was so freaking sad at the deaths. I cried quite a lot when Fred died and then more over Tonks and Lupin. Fred and Tonks are high up on my list of favourite characters. Dobby and Hedwig's death was really sad as well. :'(
So, i thought that the book was fantastic but i really really wish the epilogue had been better. It seemed weird..because after Voldemort was killed, there were 10 more pages or so and then the book was over. I would have liked to see more of what had happened after the battle and know things like who became the knew Headmaster of Hogwarts (though i'm sure it would be Prof.McGonagall) and what happened to the Weasleys. I think another chapter after the battle would have been better than just going straight to the epilogue.
Hey, was "Get away from my daughter, you bitch!" in the children's edition? I also seem to remember Ron calling Malfoy a 'two-faced bastard' in the adult edition.
caintil31 - I guess now Wikipedia's wrong cos what JKR says/writes is canon. Ron basically remembered the hissing noise Harry made when he opened the Horcrux and imitated him.
For me the saddest death was Dobby's. It wasnt instant like the killing curse. He was covered in blood with a knife sticking out of his chest. Pluse he died saving Harry.
One more thing, Does anyone else think that when Ginny was talking to Harry about giving him a gift he "couldnt lose," and then started kissing him, she was about to give up her virginity? just a thought
Lupin's pseudonym- Romulous. Gotta love J.K.
Harry attacking the death eater for spittting in McGonagall's face. Awwwwww.
omg, snape's memories!!! I can't believe he used to be so close to Lily!
There were so many great things. I do have a couple complaints, though.
The entire time they have the locket, the book takes a LOTR turn. It turns the wearer meaner and more paranoid. Causes arguments. And my God, the scene where Harry is begging Ron to destroy it- I'm just thankful she decided NOT to set it in a volcano. She could have been more creative in some aspects, maybe...
Dumbledore's speech at the end. She uses several pages just so that Harry can imagine Dumbledore perfectly wrapping up every mystery from Deathly Hallows (but missing a few from the series...). That was a little too scooby doo for me. Half expected him to rip off Voldemort's mask and reveal that it had been Flitwick all along!
Finally, the epilogue was awful. Everyone ended up with their high school sweethearts, no one else had died in the 19 years, all the children were friends/lovers. How nice and clean. *eye roll* Come on, I want to know what some of them did with their lives! It was very hurried, with little creativity. I'm hoping for something more substantial in her upcoming book.
Aww, Fred??? I cried and cried over Fred. And poor Teddy, left without parents. =(
I loved Ron and Hermione in book 6 but this was SO GREAT! The kiss wasn't soppy it was actually pretty funny with Harry saying "OI! There's a war going on here!" it made me laugh lol.
Then it got ruined when FRED DIED!! That was TERRIBLE! I really don't think Deathly Hallows was a kids story! So many people died! It was SO SAD I LOVED LUPIN! But at least Harry was Teddy's Godfather that was really sweet.
Basically I loved all the love. I can't go into it it'll be longer than everyone elses lol.
I was both thrilled and saddened by Snape's memories. I actually hurt for Snape, who spent his entire life loving the one woman he could never have. While her death might have caused smaller men to just go on with their lives, Snape devoted his entire existence to doing what he knew Lily would want him to do. And when he had Harry look into his eyes so the last thing he saw before he died was Lily's eyes...I'm getting teary-eyed just thinking about it. I'm going to have to re-read the first book and see how Snape reacted when he first saw Harry's eyes.
I have always been a big Ron/Hermoine fan and I was happy to see that Ron was trying his best to win her over. He was constantly comforting her and Harry even thought they might have fallen asleep holding hands. I'm glad they didn't have Hermoine and Ron "hook up" until the end...it would have made their quest a little more awkward. Of course, I was pretty sure that once Ron started talking about saving the house elves, that was all Hermoine would need. It was so sweet!
The Ginny/Harry plotline was subtle, but sweet. It was great when Harry told Viktor that Ginny had a burly boyfriend and then when Ginny insisted Luna take Harry to the Ravenclaw common room, not Cho. Some might say that you rarely end up with your childhood sweetheart, but I think it makes sense both Harry and Ginny and Ron and Hermoine ended up together. They went through a lot together and proved that nothing could seperate them.
I knew once JK told us that Harry had to die in order to finish off Voldemort that Harry would be okay. No way JK would have been so straightforward about the death of our hero. There had to be a loophole. I knew Dumbledore would never just send Harry off to his death like that. And when he pretended to be dead, and then revealed himself to the school, I actually was cheering with everyone else. It was a great final battle and I'm glad that Harry never actually had to kill anyone.
As many have stated above, Neville was so great in this book. His journey these seven years has been as amazing as Harry's. He went from a small, shy boy to a leader and eventually a teacher. Neville was the one person I would have thought to scared to fight off Death Eaters, but he was definitely his father and mother's child. I even like to think that he and Luna got together. :)
The epilogue was a bit confusing at first. I had to slow down and re-read it so I could make sure I had it all straight. It was slightly weird to hear Harry talking to Lily, James and Albus. My absolute favorite line of the entire book came at the end, when Harry told Albus Severus that he was named after two Hogwarts headmasters and one was a Slyterin and he was "the bravest man I ever knew." Here come the waterworks!!
I'm terribly sad it is over. Now all I have to look forward to are the final movies. And the encyclopedia, of course. I hope it will tell us what Harry does for a living. And Ron and Hermoine. There was so much emphasis in book 5 about what there professions would be, I really want to know. Clearly they didn't become professors like Neville, or they would have been aboard the train or already at Hogwarts. Anyway, LOVED THE BOOK. Best one yet, JK!!