Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

[Hisham]

So, who is looking forward to this book?

Put speculation talk here.

[dork]

I KNOW THIS GAY D00D WHO PRE-ORDERED IT.

[Jonny Royal]

I cannot wait for this book.
I keep hearing that Harry is a horcrux, but hwo can that be justified?

[Hisham]

His scar...

[Jonny Royal]

FAIL. No way he is a horcruz

[Hisham]

Think about it. What perfect irony, Harry being a horcrux. After all, his parents were 2 of Voldemort's biggest enemies.

It leaves for him to sacrafice himself in the end aswell.

[Phoenix]

Harry might end up being a Horcrux, but that will have to end with either a very sloppy ending or a sappy one. Another question is Snape: good or evil?

I think he's evil, personally. There's a lot of evidence for good, but I think Rowlings did all that to make the whole you-know-what incident some crushing irony after a huge buildup.

[Jonny Royal]

Yeah he is an evil little bitch

[Jonny Royal]

So, would it be safe to flood the lit section with off topic threads?

[Khaos]

I KNOW THIS GAY D00D WHO PRE-ORDERED IT.

That was me.

[Hisham]

Everyone stop spamming perfectly good topics...

I'm pretty sure the mods are serious about this.

[Jonny Royal]

Trying not to, I'm just so used to the madhouse

[Greg]

Snape is a cool dude and I honestly think he is good and the whole Harry being a horecrux thing has merit but I really don't believe the fans will respond good to harry dieing at the end which is what would have to happen . Personally I don't care if he dies or not as long as its done well. Either way I'm pretty excited and can't wait for the ending.

[Jonny Royal]

If he dies i will hurt myself

[Shadow Voa]

Dumbledore is a Phoenix I hear in HP7...

Edit: On a serious note, Snape... he really will make/brake this ending I feel.

[Jonny Royal]

Lies

[Hisham]

Nympho...

STOP SPAMMING.

Anyways, I actually think the story HAS to end with Harry dieing. I just hope it will be done without being a cheesefest.

[Billet Proof]

I think that after Snape Killed Dumbledore Rowling ran out of ideas so will try and finish the series with a witty political satire: Hogwarts is shut down as it is a publicly funded school of witchcraft and wizardry.

[Gilly]

As much as I can't stand Snape, I think he's good.
I also do not believe that Harry is a horcrux. That would be dumb.
I hope he lives, but I won't be surprised if he dies.

I can't wait til this book comes out.
I'm going to pre-order it soon, and I listen to MuggleCast every week :)

[Fillibuster]

I'm pumped for this book! I don't read as much as I used to, but I always sit down and finish Harry Potter in a day or two. I agree that Harry is almost required to die, but it is really a touchy thing. It can't be done poorly because everything else has been done so well.

I really wish we weren't tipped off in the beginning about there being seven books; so much suspense was lost in the endings of all the books, because we knew there was more coming...</offtopic>

[Jonny Royal]

I'm pumped for this book! I don't read as much as I used to, but I always sit down and finish Harry Potter in a day or two. I agree that Harry is almost required to die, but it is really a touchy thing. It can't be done poorly because everything else has been done so well.

I really wish we weren't tipped off in the beginning about there being seven books; so much suspense was lost in the endings of all the books, because we knew there was more coming...</offtopic>

I finished the 6th book in 27 hours

[curryking1]

Just recommendation, if any of you are getting the book, do yourself a favour and preorder it, you essentially get half price on a 50 or 60 dollar item.

Can't wait for this too btw. Like millions of people, kids and adults, doesn't even matter, I've been hooked to every book for whatever reason, not that it's well written or that it's got lots of impressive thought provoking meaning, it's just whatever it is you know? It's fun to read, it's pretty retarded how fun it is to read these books.

I hope the ending is satisfying, and something tells me Harry Potter needs to die at the end but to make it good JK Rowling has one serious challenge ahead of her, whatever the ending is. The ending has to be so amazing otherwise there's going to be so much 'flak' or complaining about it.

P.S. I think I've read like each book about 4 or 5 times except for the 6th. Something about 1 and 3 is most impressing to me though. I don't really remember which one I liked best because I can't really remember 5 very much, not 4 either but more than 5, it's been a while since I've touched a Harry Potter book.

[Jonny Royal]

Harry dies, I die

[Phoenix]

I think she's going to try to make him live. It just wouldn't feel right if he died. She's got a bit of a challenge though, because she not only would have to do it without being sappy, she would need to think of an other way to make this book's death even more significant (Cedric, Sirius, Dumbledore, then who?) Killing off Harry would definitely satisfy both problems, but that just doesn't seem like it would make a very complete ending to the books.

[Jonny Royal]

i think, one of the twins will die next

[BigfootGus]

hmmm

i dont like guesswork

im just gonna read it when it comes out, gadammit!

[Phoenix]

i think, one of the twins will die nextI dunno, they're kind of insignificant, and there's not much use for tragedy of this degree in a former-children's series if it isn't important to the plot.

[BigfootGus]

hmmm when does it come out?

[Jonny Royal]

Never

[BigfootGus]

seriously?

[Phoenix]

July 21 or 22 or something like that.

[Jonny Royal]

already got mine pre ordered

[Gilly]

hmmm when does it come out?

July 21st.

[Jonny Royal]

movie comes out a week before

[BigfootGus]

next month?

EDIT!!

[Jonny Royal]

huh?

[Fillibuster]

She shoulda had it come out on 7/7/07 duh! Oh well...

[Milly]

Im looking foreward to It, I hope harry doesnt die, but he probably will, I was so bummed when Dumbledor and Sirius died i didnt really care much for Cedric.. Its possible that Harry is a Horcrux, but unlikely, i wanna know what is so special about lilly... apparently something is revealed about her and Petunia! I hope they do something evil to Dudley thats always amusing and i do hope that they have alot of the weasly twins in it because they are needed as the comic relief, Im really bummed that they arnt in the movies as much as they should be

[Gaul]

whats a horcrux again? its been a while.

[Jonny Royal]

a fragment of voldemort's soul stored inside something valuable

like marvolo's ring and hufflepuff's cup

The only one that wasn't stored in something like that is the diary, but even that is speculation

[Cofey]

I have just finished rereading the entire series, as I'm sure several others of you have also in anticipation of the final installment. After reading through each book again in succession, I have come up with some ideas about what might happen in the seventh book.

I'd like to hear what you all think of these. Keep in mind that I am fully aware that any number of my predictions can be dead wrong. Rowling has pulled so many twists and turns before that I believe it impossible to know for sure what's going to happen. However, here are my thoughts:

1. Harry cannot die; it would completely defeat the entire purpose of the books ever being written. He was the boy who lived, not the boy who struggled his hardest for six years, losing some of the people closest to him, just to kick it at the end. And I don't believe whatsoever the rumors that Harry himself could be a horcrux...it just doesn't seem to fit to me. If Harry died it would be a very poor way to end the series.

2. I have a very strong feeling that Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood are going to do something spectacular. Neville at least we have seen struggling for six years to do anything right, yet he has always been determined to fight the Death Eaters along with Harry. He is going to avenge his parents by pulling off some really great deed.

3. I have suspicions that Draco Malfoy might turn out good. He was walking on the razor's edge when he faced Dumbledore at the end of book 6, and even Harry felt pity for him afterwards. Dumbledore offered Malfoy and his parents protection, and if their conversation wasn't interrupted, I am sure Malfoy would have eventually agreed to go with Dumbledore.

4. Peter Pettigrew is going to turn on Voldemort, or help Harry in some other way. In book 3, Dumbledore tod Harry:
"Pettigrew owes his life to you...I'm much mistaken if Voldemort wants his servant in the debt of Harry Potter."
Then later:
"The time may come when you will be very glad you saved Pettigrew's life."
That definitely sounds like foreshadowing to me.

5. Severus Snape is still working for the Order of the Phoenix. I admit I could be wrong about this, but right now I am completely convinced that I am right. Dumbledore trusted Snape, and when in the course of the first six books has Dumbledore's trust in anybody been misplaced? The only one that comes to mind is Barty Crouch, but that doesn't count as he was using polyjuice potion to assume another identity.

Why would Snape make the unbreakable vow to help Draco kill Dumbledore? I am sure that the only reason he did so was to keep up the pretense that he was actually on Voldemort's side. If Snape knew about Draco's mission, he would have told Dumbledore immediately (assuming he was indeed working for the Order). He would also have informed Dumbledore of himself making the unbreakable vow with Narcissa Malfoy.

Later on, Hagrid tells Harry and Hermione that he overheard Dumbledore and Snape arguing about something. Snape said Dumbledore took too much for granted and maybe Snape didn't want to do it anymore. Dumbledore firmly told Snape he had already agreed to do it and that he had no choice.

What if what Snape didn't want to do was kill Dumbledore for Malfoy? We naturally assume that Snape is talking about spying on Voldemort for Dumbledore, but that is never confirmed at any point in the book.

Then up on the tower, Dumbledore is weakened and unarmed, yet he talks lightly and casually to Malfoy and the four other Death Eaters, as if he's standing amongst a group of friends. But when Snape joins the scene Dumbledore pleads with him. "Severus...please..." but please what? He never said.

I think it was actually "Severus, please kill me, I know you don't want to do it but it must be done to maintain your cover with the Death Eaters," or something along those lines. Also, it was a way of protecting Malfoy from death at the hands of Voldemort. The other four Death Eaters refused to do it, saying it was Draco's job, and we know Draco never would have done it. Dumbledore showed Draco pity and sympathy, and I am sure he didn't want Draco to end up dead.

On top of all that, Dumbledore repeatedly said Harry was more important than himself, and that the one flaw in his own plan had been that he cared too much for Harry. Maybe he needed himself out of the way to give Harry a clear path to go after Voldemort.

The only problem is, if Snape is still indeed working for the Order, nobody in the Order believes it at this point. But it remains to be seen what good he can do for the Order and what harm he can inflict upon Voldemort while nobody on the good side trusts him.

So these are my ideas. I would be interested in hearing what you think of them, and what some of your ideas are.

EDIT: I almost forgot to mention another important point: when Dumbledore returned to Hogsmeade in his weakened state with Harry, and when he was up on the tower, BOTH times he told Harry to find Snape, and specifically said NOT to get Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse. Is this because he wanted Snape to kill him right away and finish the job?

[Jonny Royal]

what if snape and dumbledore were both using the polyjuice potion on that night and really it was snape who died? But Rowling has already said dumbledore was dead and he isnt coming back

[Cofey]

^Of course, Dumbledore needed to die, just like Sirius needed to die, as sad as both deaths were. Harry needs to face Voldemort alone, and Dumbledore saw that. He knew there would come a point where he could no longer help Harry.

Dumbledore showed Harry all he knew about Voldemort's past, and speculated all he could about the missing pieces. Now it's up to Harry to finish the job, aided by his friends but no longer with "protectors" like Dumbledore and Sirius to defend him.

[Gilly]

In response to Gollum's post:

1. I won't say that he can't die, but I hope he won't. I also do not believe that Harry is a horcrux.

2. I think Neville will do something great. I think Luna's character won't really play a role in this book.

3. Agreed. As much as I hate Malfoy, I think he might end up good. If he stayed on the bad side, it would only be because of his fear of Voldemort.

4. I don't really have any thoughts on Pettigrew at this point, but I think you're right.

5. I hate Snape so much, but I definitely think he is good. He's a spy for the Order, and since he made the Unbreakable Vow, he had to kill Dumbledore.


I know whatever happens, this book is going to be great. I'm just gonna be sad when it's all over.

[Phoenix]

I don't see much coming from Luna. Her main purpose was to just provide some random unexpected knowledge really in the other books. Her time has already come. Neville, however, would seriously surprise me if he didn't do something spectacular. Why would someone be such a significant character through all six books and just be pathetic the whole time and through the seventh as well? There has to be more to him.

[the poe collector]

I haven't read any of the books in a while so feel free to correct me if something I say is off.

I don't think Harry is going to die. Like Gollum said he's had so many people around him die that killing him off would be a messed up way to end things. And doesn't killing or destroying a horcrux or whatever hurt Voldemort? Why the fuck would he keep trying to kill Harry if he was a horcrux?

I think Pettigrew is too much of a coward to turn on Voldemort. I wouldn't be surprised if he makes some kind of mistake that helps Harry though. I also don't think Snape is evil. Dumbledore was pretty much screwed after his fight with Voldemort weakened him and Snape made the vow. I think they both knew this and the only way to really help Harry was to sacrifice himself so Snape could continue to spy on Voldemort.

Since it's the last book in the series I wouldn't be surprised if a bunch of other characters died fighting eachother. Maybe Neville tries to avenge his parents by taking on Voldemort himself and isn't strong enough. I dunno.

[Phoenix]

Don't tell anyone, but I found out that it ends with Neville killing Voldemort with his bare hands in a no-holds-barred cage match.

[Milly]

yeah im going to re-read the books again which shouldnt take me too long I really hope that Neville does something really great! like maybe i dunno beat the crap out of malfoy. But Bill and Fleur are getting married in this book and I wonder if that will sail smoothly or not, and thinking also this is the last time that harry has protection from staying at his Aunt and Uncles house, so I think something will hapen there as well, all i know is this better end happy im still pissed off with Sirius dying!!!

[Hisham]

I have just finished rereading the entire series, as I'm sure several others of you have also in anticipation of the final installment. After reading through each book again in succession, I have come up with some ideas about what might happen in the seventh book.

I'd like to hear what you all think of these. Keep in mind that I am fully aware that any number of my predictions can be dead wrong. Rowling has pulled so many twists and turns before that I believe it impossible to know for sure what's going to happen. However, here are my thoughts:

1. Harry cannot die; it would completely defeat the entire purpose of the books ever being written. He was the boy who lived, not the boy who struggled his hardest for six years, losing some of the people closest to him, just to kick it at the end. And I don't believe whatsoever the rumors that Harry himself could be a horcrux...it just doesn't seem to fit to me. If Harry died it would be a very poor way to end the series.

2. I have a very strong feeling that Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood are going to do something spectacular. Neville at least we have seen struggling for six years to do anything right, yet he has always been determined to fight the Death Eaters along with Harry. He is going to avenge his parents by pulling off some really great deed.

3. I have suspicions that Draco Malfoy might turn out good. He was walking on the razor's edge when he faced Dumbledore at the end of book 6, and even Harry felt pity for him afterwards. Dumbledore offered Malfoy and his parents protection, and if their conversation wasn't interrupted, I am sure Malfoy would have eventually agreed to go with Dumbledore.

4. Peter Pettigrew is going to turn on Voldemort, or help Harry in some other way. In book 3, Dumbledore tod Harry:
"Pettigrew owes his life to you...I'm much mistaken if Voldemort wants his servant in the debt of Harry Potter."
Then later:
"The time may come when you will be very glad you saved Pettigrew's life."
That definitely sounds like foreshadowing to me.

5. Severus Snape is still working for the Order of the Phoenix. I admit I could be wrong about this, but right now I am completely convinced that I am right. Dumbledore trusted Snape, and when in the course of the first six books has Dumbledore's trust in anybody been misplaced? The only one that comes to mind is Barty Crouch, but that doesn't count as he was using polyjuice potion to assume another identity.

Why would Snape make the unbreakable vow to help Draco kill Dumbledore? I am sure that the only reason he did so was to keep up the pretense that he was actually on Voldemort's side. If Snape knew about Draco's mission, he would have told Dumbledore immediately (assuming he was indeed working for the Order). He would also have informed Dumbledore of himself making the unbreakable vow with Narcissa Malfoy.

Later on, Hagrid tells Harry and Hermione that he overheard Dumbledore and Snape arguing about something. Snape said Dumbledore took too much for granted and maybe Snape didn't want to do it anymore. Dumbledore firmly told Snape he had already agreed to do it and that he had no choice.

What if what Snape didn't want to do was kill Dumbledore for Malfoy? We naturally assume that Snape is talking about spying on Voldemort for Dumbledore, but that is never confirmed at any point in the book.

Then up on the tower, Dumbledore is weakened and unarmed, yet he talks lightly and casually to Malfoy and the four other Death Eaters, as if he's standing amongst a group of friends. But when Snape joins the scene Dumbledore pleads with him. "Severus...please..." but please what? He never said.

I think it was actually "Severus, please kill me, I know you don't want to do it but it must be done to maintain your cover with the Death Eaters," or something along those lines. Also, it was a way of protecting Malfoy from death at the hands of Voldemort. The other four Death Eaters refused to do it, saying it was Draco's job, and we know Draco never would have done it. Dumbledore showed Draco pity and sympathy, and I am sure he didn't want Draco to end up dead.

On top of all that, Dumbledore repeatedly said Harry was more important than himself, and that the one flaw in his own plan had been that he cared too much for Harry. Maybe he needed himself out of the way to give Harry a clear path to go after Voldemort.

The only problem is, if Snape is still indeed working for the Order, nobody in the Order believes it at this point. But it remains to be seen what good he can do for the Order and what harm he can inflict upon Voldemort while nobody on the good side trusts him.

So these are my ideas. I would be interested in hearing what you think of them, and what some of your ideas are.

EDIT: I almost forgot to mention another important point: when Dumbledore returned to Hogsmeade in his weakened state with Harry, and when he was up on the tower, BOTH times he told Harry to find Snape, and specifically said NOT to get Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse. Is this because he wanted Snape to kill him right away and finish the job?

Alright I agree with everything, BUT the first point lol. He was supposed to be the "boy that lived" right. And for the longest time, he was also the boy that bought the end to Voldemort. But that wasn't true. He just mearly weakened Voldemort.

This is my speculation if Harry is not a horcrux. Harry will die, and he won't be the one to finish off Voldemort. Instead, he will have given his life, fighting him, and destroying all the horcrux's, and Neville will pull something spectacular, along with Ron and Hermione, to help finally kill him. Sounds corny, but I feel if written well, it can become a very emotional ending.

And Snape will probably be a good guy, and show his true colors later on in the book. Perhaps putting some sort of spell which will limit Voldemorts power, which would be how they could bring him down.

And Dumbledore's phoenix will probably play a big part in this book again.

Of course if Harry is a horcrux, the ending will be alot different.

[Phoenix]

Harry kills Voldemort with the power of friendship and love and then Fawkes brings Cedric, Sirius, Dumbledore and Harry's parents back to life. The end.

[Hisham]

I liked your cage match ending better.

[Jonny Royal]

Harry kills Voldemort with the power of friendship and love and then Fawkes brings Cedric, Sirius, Dumbledore and Harry's parents back to life. The end.

A phoenix can only heal, not bring back to life

[Phoenix]

I think I would know these things.

In sappy endings, anything can happen as long as it brings good guys back to life.

[Jonny Royal]

I guess they could find a loophole somewhere like, dumbledore died, so his phoenix can now bring one person back to life

[Phoenix]

I would be deeply depressed if any cop-out like that happened. Even if it were Sirius (one of my favorite characters.) Besides, Dumbledore continues to "live" as a painting in McGonnal's office.

[Jonny Royal]

They are all just beyond the veil, you know it

[Phoenix]

Did they ever say in book 6 who the deputy headmaster/headmistress was? I wonder who.

I would guess Flitwick, but I dunno.

[Jonny Royal]

Sinistra all the way

[Phoenix]

Maybe Lockhart will come back and get the job. ^.^

[Jonny Royal]

Well, maybe he would do a better job this time without his inflated head

[Gilly]

Did they ever say in book 6 who the deputy headmaster/headmistress was? I wonder who.

I would guess Flitwick, but I dunno.

It's McGonagall. She filled in when Dumbledore left in the earlier books.

I guess the director of the 5th film said that JKR told them they couldn't cut out Kreacher, because he wouldn't be able to explain stuff in the 7th book.
So I guess he plays a big role? or at least a decent sized one.
I think that's because of the locket, which is assumed to be the real horcrux that RAB (Sirius' brother probably) destroyed.
I know his name started with an R, and B for black, not to mention in the spanish version, the last initial is N, which most likely stands for Negro, the spanish translation of Black.

[Jonny Royal]

Phoenix was talking about the new deputy, not the new headmaster

[Gilly]

Phoenix was talking about the new deputy, not the new headmaster

Oh, I didn't see that.
Hmmmm. I'm not sure.
Probably one of the longer-tenured professors, I'd guess.

[Phoenix]

That's why I suspected Flitwick. He seems to be the one with the fewest quirks.

[Jonny Royal]

Yes, But Sinistra hasn't had a large role yet. She will be headmaster and lead dumbledore's army into the fight

[Phoenix]

Deputy.

[Jonny Royal]

fuck, nevermind

[Gilly]

I pre-ordered my copy today :)

[Kronz]

I feel as though I should interject my perspective on the entire affair in anticipation of the seventh book's release and the end of the series...

Everywhere children and adults alike are speculating about what will happen in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Meanwhile, Scholastic and Bloomsbury have tried their very best to keep the seventh book's storyline swathed in secrecy in favor of a "magic moment" readers will experience at midnight, as they begin to read through the final installment in the series. They are grievously disesteeming the power of the book they're trying so zealously to sell and, more important, are belittling the power of the written word.

Their magic-moment precept espouses the misguided conviction that the pleasure to be found in Rowling's work--and indeed in all literature--is a fragile, fleeting enchantment that is easily dispelled. On June 18th, a hacker--"Gabriel", he called himself--announced on a website that he had stolen the manuscript to Deadly Hallows. He said that he had gained access to a Bloomsbury employee's computer and posted what he claimed were key plot elements. He said it was done as a part of a Christian counterattack against a work that promoted what he referred to as "Neo-Paganism". He proclaimed, "We make this spoiler to make reading of the upcoming book useless and boring."

The spoilers were almost certainly fake. You be the judge, though:
************************************************** **********
* Harry Potter 0day
*
************************************************** **********

Dear my brothers,

Voldemort killed Hermione. Yes, that's true. And we knew that 2 days ago.

This is the end of the not yet published (someone could call that 0day) book

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows .

At the end of the story Hagrid was killed by Snape in the attempt of ambush Hermione and Ron.
Ron and Hermione flees in privet drive but Voldermort, surprising them, engaged a magical duel with Ron and Hermione.

Voldemort attacked trough the imperius curse and Hermione, to protect the life of Ron fight hardly for more than 6 pages and then finally die.
(boring, very boring... it's always the same story!)

Then, to make a long story short, Harry came up, killed all the bad guys and Hogwarts against became a good place to stay and have fun.

Ah, i missed one important information about Draco Malfoy, he started to create Horcrux (for fun and profit!).
The end.
************************************************** **********

Yes, we did it.
We did it by following the precious words of the great Pope Benedict XVI when he still was Cardinal Josepth Ratzinger.
He explained why Harry Potter bring the youngs of our earth to Neo Paganism faith.

So we make this spoiler to make reading of the upcoming book useless and boring.

The attack strategy was the easiest one.
The usual milw0rm downloaded exploit delivered by email/click-on-the-link/open-browser/click-on-this-animated-icon/back-connect to some employee of Bloomsbury Publishing, the company that's behind the Harry crap.

It's amazing to see how much people inside the company have copies and drafts of this book.
Curiosity killed the cat.

Who kill curiosity?

To protect you and your families

God bless you

Gabriel
Above, Gabriel didn't offer a speck of evidence to corroborate his claims. And anyway, isn't boasting about things you really haven't done is what hacker culture is all about? But even had the spoilers been authentic, it would not have mattered in the least.

With respect to this, both Gabriel and Rowling's publishers share a fundamental misunderstanding of what reading is all about. People read books for any number of reasons; finding out how the story ends happens to be one of them, though not even one of the most important. If it were otherwise, no-one would ever bother to read a book twice, would they? Reading is about learning about characters and being completely immersed in a fictional world and repartée and living through a story page by page. The notion that someone could ruin a novel by revealing its ending is preposterous--like saying you could ruin the Mona Lisa by revealing that it's a picture of a woman with a center part. Spoilers are a myth: they don't spoil. No elaborate secrecy campaign is going to make Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows any better--or any worse--than it already is, and no website could ever make it useless and boring.

:2cents:

[Phoenix]

You're right that there's more to a story than just what happens, but part of the art is knowing when to reveal what information to the reader. Knowing what happens in the end can greatly take away from the element of suspense and the enjoyment it brings. Thanks to one of the many people who thought it'd be cute to shout the ending of the sixth book, I've read through the entirety of the series for the first time (minus the seventh, of course) knowing that "he" dies in the sixth book. It took away from my experience.

On another note, I do not believe any claims from a person who considers Harry Potter "neo-pagan" and gives Christianity a bad name. I didn't bother to read that crap.

[Jonny Royal]

I definitely skipped those "spoilers, I mean, I saw the first one but then scrolled down, because a lot of the magic for me comes at those jaw dropping moments.

[DankHero]

I think i read that in time magazine...

I agree that Harry can't be the horcrux because Voldermort has been trying to kill him this whole time unless it was a big facade...

[Jonny Royal]

^This is a very good point. But a horcrux is only a part of his soul. Voldemort probably thought he hid the others so well that he could just destroy this one threat and wouldnt have to worry about another one arising

[Jonny Royal]

But I'm just playing the devil's advocate here, i dont want him to die

[Phoenix]

I've been reading Death Note all day, so my mind is very open to the concept of things being a facade, but even still I don't think that's the case. The last Horcrux will be a shocker, though. I'm pretty sure of it.

[Jonny Royal]

I am the last horcrux

[Phoenix]

*gasp*

*points wand at Gaddis*

[Jonny Royal]

Avada Kedavra

[Phoenix]

:'(

[Jonny Royal]

hhah you died

[Phoenix]

Crap! I'm behind schedule, so I'm going to have to really speed up my reading. I should be able to finish The Goblet of Fire today, but that'll leave me with only a week to read the last two, one of which is the longest in the series. Oh well, good ACT practice, I guess. *sigh*

[Jonny Royal]

nope, you're gonna fail

[Cofey]

Heh, I had the opposite problem. I finished a month earlier than I anticipated. I guess I just forgot how impossible it is to put those books down once you start.

[Gilly]

I'm a couple hundred pages into OOTP, so I'll have to slow it down a bit if I don't wanna wait a few days for DH.

[Phoenix]

My kingdom for a Time Turner.Heh, I had the opposite problem. I finished a month earlier than I anticipated. I guess I just forgot how impossible it is to put those books down once you start.Can I borrow some of your extra time? :P

[Jonny Royal]

^Band camp?

[Cofey]

Can I borrow some of your extra time? :P
Only if you can pay me back with interest.

[Phoenix]

^Band camp?I'll have finished Deathly Hallows by the time band camp starts. I just need more time to finish books 5 and 6 for my third time. I managed to finish book 4 tonight, which was like 300 pages in a day, and I need to keep an average of 190 pages a day every day until the book's out. Doable, but I wish I had more time.

[Shadow Voa]

Consider a time transplant?

On topic: I preordered book 7 today, not that I needed too. Theres going to be like millions of copies at our local Chapters I didnt need to preorder at all.

[Phoenix]

I look forward to seeing what kind of dorks I'll see at the midnight release, which I will be attending.

[Jonny Royal]

I went to see the midnight release of the movie, and I stood in line for 17 hours for the Wii (call line waiting a hobbie of mine) but I just ordered the 7th book online

[Alias]

I look forward to seeing what kind of dorks I'll see at the midnight release, which I will be attending.



I've done it before. Haha luckily I was out of the store at like 12:10 though, and luckily this last book is getting mailed to the doorstep.

[Phoenix]

I went to see the midnight release of the movie, and I stood in line for 17 hours for the Wii (call line waiting a hobbie of mine) but I just ordered the 7th book onlineDang, 17?! It only took me eight.

[Jonny Royal]

yep, got into line at 7AM didn't get it til 12AM

[Milly]

I will go to my bookshop early to get the last book! And I have played the waiting game before I waited 8 Hours or was it 10..?? For Red Hot Chili Peppers... And I have waited for the other books, But I will be there early for Deathly Hollows as its the last book and I wanna know what happens! (I just finished rereading the 6th Book)

[Kronz]

J.K. Rowling after finishing the book:
"Thank you...yeah, you don't know, it might be rubbish. Some people will loathe it, they will absolutely loathe it. For some people to love it, other people must loathe it. That's just in the nature of the plot."

Hmm... Methinks Harry dies.

On a blither note, I just pre-ordered my copy from Amazon... Guaranteed release-date delivery and all that.

[Phoenix]

I was talking to an acquaintance the other day, and have come to the conclusion that Hermione could possibly. She seems the most likely of the main three and is more in the "there's no one left to cover your back, do stuff yourself" spirit of the last two deaths.

[Jonny Royal]

Trelawney's gonna die
no question

[Phoenix]

If she does, she'll probably either kick it near the start of the book after making an important prediction, or die at the climax in some sort of Redshirt-ish death of lesser non-extra "good guys."

[Jonny Royal]

she will die in the middle of a prediction

[Gilly]

I don't think Trelawney will die.
I think Hogwarts is pretty much an afterthought, and we won't seeing much about what goes on there and the professors, except for the ones in the Order.
I hope that Hermione and Ron will end up together.
I think probably a couple of Weasleys will die.
Snape is good, as much as I hate to say it.
I think Lucius Malfoy will die, but I don't think Draco will.
Harry is not a horcrux, and I really really really hope he doesn't die.
and that's all the thoughts I really have for now.

[Jonny Royal]

Everyone dies

[Kronz]

In a trailer for the forthcoming ITV documentary, A Year in the Life... J K Rowling, the camera lingers long enough on a printed manuscript of the novel, dated 23 October 2006, to make the opening visible to the eagle eyed. It reads:

'Chapter One. The Dark Lord Ascending. The two men appeared out of nowhere, a few yards apart in the narrow, moonlit lane. For a second they stood quite still, wands pointing at each other's chests: then, recognising each other, they stowed their wands beneath their cloaks and set off, side by side, in the same direction.

"News?", asked the taller of the two.

"The best," replied Snape.'

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2126717,00.html

[Phoenix]

Didn't bother reading it, just in case. Is it anything revealing?

[Kronz]

Didn't bother reading it, just in case. Is it anything revealing?

No, nothing at all.

[Phoenix]

I see. Let's see if that actually shows up this Saturday.

[Hisham]

J.K. Rowling after finishing the book:
"Thank you...yeah, you don't know, it might be rubbish. Some people will loathe it, they will absolutely loathe it. For some people to love it, other people must loathe it. That's just in the nature of the plot."

Hmm... Methinks Harry dies.

On a blither note, I just pre-ordered my copy from Amazon... Guaranteed release-date delivery and all that.

Doesn't mean Harry will die... Could be one of the other main characters, perhaps Hermione. Maybe Ron. Could be that Voldemort somehow leans of Ginny and Harry getting closer, and kills Ginny.

Dunno just throwing ideas out there. Thursday or Friday of next week I will probably have fomulated my speculation to what is going to happen.

Although from what I have read, it seems pretty probable Harry won't die (yes I know I am changing my opinion), but then again, I am basing this off of what I can remember of the prophecy.

[Phoenix]

It just means that something tragic will happen, which is pretty obvious. The book has the word "death" in its name, and if following the trend that the target audience of the books grow up with their fans, is about 2 years less family friendly than The Half Blood Prince and the whole X kills Y incident. Of course people aren't going to be happy with how it turns out at first.

[Kronz]

http://www.mugglenet.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10011/normal_bookboxesvert2.jpg

[Phoenix]

Hmm. Would you look at that. It appears that I am drooling.

*impatient*

[Jonny Royal]

Well, they can't both die. It either ends with Harry triumphing or Voldemrt taking over

[Phoenix]

I still stand by my prediction of a happy ending. A tragic ending, almost certainly, but it's just the nature of the books that good has to triumph over evil in the end.

[Gilly]

Well, they can't both die. It either ends with Harry triumphing or Voldemrt taking over

See, I don't think that's right.
I think good will win either way.
Either Harry will defeat Voldemort, or something will happen and Harry has to sacrifice himself for the good of everyone else.

[Cofey]

I firmly believe that Harry will not die. Say what you will, but after writing these seven novels all about the "Boy Who Lived," it seems to me that to kill him off now would defeat the whole purpose of the entire story.

[Billet Proof]

I think Dumbledore will die.

[Phoenix]

I think Dumbledore will die.No way, you idiot. It's gonna be Cedric.

[Ihsiin]

Snape kills Dumbledore!

Hmm... I think I'm a book too late.
And a few posts too late, it seems.

Wouldn't it be great if everyone dies in much the same style as Douglas Adams' characters?

(My heart's not really in this post.)
(I'm sorry.)

[Phoenix]

I'm sure anyone reading this thread knows that, but just to be safe I really suggest a spoiler tag.

[Ihsiin]

Isn't there some rule that if said book/film/whatever has been out for some period of time, then a spoiler tag isn't necessary?
Or something?

(By the way, I appreciate the promptness of your response.)

[Phoenix]

There's no rule against leaving it out, but I just mentioned it for courtesy's sake. I read the first 5 for the first time coming up to the sixth, so I assume that there are some that are doing the same for the seventh, and they might be reading this thread.

[Ihsiin]

Ah, I'm sure everyone will be alright.

[Billet Proof]

SNAPE KILLS DUMBLEDORE!

I just wanted it on this page too.

[Kronz]

I just thought of something...

I recall that in Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore tells Harry that based on the date of the birth of the boy in the prophecy, Neville could be "the boy who lived," not Harry. He also notes that perhaps because Voldemort attacked Harry and not Neville, Harry has been thought of in that capacity--as the boy from the prophecy. I mean to say by all of this that those who have presaged a big role for Neville in the seventh book might not have been too far off the mark...

Just throwing that out there.

[Zak]

I hope Professor Snape Rapes Hermione.

That would make one HELL of a movie.

[Hisham]

I just thought of something...

I recall that in Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore tells Harry that based on the date of the birth of the boy in the prophecy, Neville could be "the boy who lived," not Harry. He also notes that perhaps because Voldemort attacked Harry and not Neville, Harry has been thought of in that capacity--as the boy from the prophecy. I mean to say by all of this that those who have presaged a big role for Neville in the seventh book might not have been too far off the mark...

Just throwing that out there.

Ahh yes, that is where my theory of Harry dieing came into play lol.

I remembered my speculation, but I didn't remember how I came to that conclusion because it has been over a year since I have read the fifth book.

[Phoenix]

Ooh, now that could make for an interesting plot twist. It would also explain Neville's prominence in the books.

[Cofey]

But the prophecy also said Voldemort would mark the boy as his equal, which he did to Harry in trying to kill him. So the prophecy was referring to Harry and not Neville.

[nbakyfan15]

Its leaked on the internet now....I think its illegal though to post the link...

[Phoenix]

I think this is my cue to exit stage left, although I'm not sure I can go that long without the internet. I just need to be very careful.

Just accept this warning: if any of you f*** this book up for me, I will never forgive you and make sure that every 11th reputation I give for the rest of my life will be for you and negative.

[Gilly]

I think this is my cue to exit stage left, although I'm not sure I can go that long without the internet. I just need to be very careful.

Just accept this warning: if any of you f*** this book up for me, I will never forgive you and make sure that every 11th reputation I give for the rest of my life will be for you and negative.

Same here.
I'm avoiding sites where I might get spoiled.
and if I have to, I'll have my sister screen my e-mail, text msgs, etc.

[Cofey]

So wait...it's legitimately up now? The actual plot?


Good grief.

[Kronz]

Yup. The whole book is up at ebookscottage.com. The whole thing. I was tempted, but decided against reading it.

[Kronz]

For those interested, I've just now received a strange email from a MySpace user to the following effect:

WARNING: It seems likely to be legitimate, as it cites page numbers.

Burbage dies on pg12
Hedwig dies on pg56
Mad-Eye dies on pg78
Scrimgeour dies on pg159
Wormtail dies on pg471
Dobby dies on pg476
Voldemort kills Snape on pg658

Hagrid, Malfoy, Neville survive.

Ron marries Hermione
Harry marries Ginny
Their children attend Hogwarts together

The final two sentences are: "The scar had not pained Harry for eighteen years. All was well."

The guy may have just ruined the book for me.

[OG_Monkey]

So, who is looking forward to this book?

Put speculation talk here.

i just knew id find this topic here lol.


but meh, i just wait for the movies to come out. Read the first 2 books but no JK trynna kill me with all these pages. After i saw how many were in the 5 book i said, its time to wait for the movies.

I wonder how this one will turn out though

[Mathx]

For those interested, I've just now received a strange email from a MySpace user to the following effect:

WARNING: It seems likely to be legitimate, as it cites page numbers.

Burbage dies on pg12
Hedwig dies on pg56
Mad-Eye dies on pg78
Scrimgeour dies on pg159
Wormtail dies on pg471
Dobby dies on pg476
Voldemort kills Snape on pg658

Hagrid, Malfoy, Neville survive.

Ron marries Hermione
Harry marries Ginny
Their children attend Hogwarts together

The final two sentences are: "The scar had not pained Harry for eighteen years. All was well."

The guy may have just ruined the book for me.

I don't think that that is correct, from the spoilers I heard:

Neville kills Bellatrix which is cool seeing what she did to his parents

[Phoenix]

Looks like the UK has two editions with two covers. This one is horrible...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/Harry_Potter_and_the_Deathly_Hallows.jpg

But the adult one is pretty classy.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1d/Potteradualtcover.jpg/125px-Potteradualtcover.jpg

US cover (including back, of course):

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/94/Harry_Potter_and_the_Deathly_Hallows_US_Full.jpg

[Kronz]

Here's a bigger version of the US cover, illustrated by Mary GrandPré:

[Kronz]

http://news.sky.com/skynews/video/videoplayer/0,,30000-1275566,.html

Also, the book that was posted online has been taken down, and the website subpoena'd.

[Phoenix]

Hmm... To guess what's going on in the cover. It's pretty clear who that is, but neither of them seem to have wands. It looks like there are figures in the background (Death Eaters?) and there are what look like curtains around them, and they're reaching for something. Maybe it's a Horcrux? And it looks like they're in some kind of gladiator arena, so maybe they're dueling and it's their wands that were both dispelled at once that they're reaching for?

[Kronz]

Hmm... To guess what's going on in the cover. It's pretty clear who that is, but neither of them seem to have wands. It looks like there are figures in the background (Death Eaters?) and there are what look like curtains around them, and they're reaching for something. Maybe it's a Horcrux? And it looks like they're in some kind of gladiator arena, so maybe they're dueling and it's their wands that were both dispelled at once that they're reaching for?

Mary GrandPré said in an interview that the shadowy figures are all of the people Harry "cares about". Certainly an abstruse concept.

[Phoenix]

Ooh, now that's an interesting plot object. A link/quote to the full interview anywhere?

[Cofey]

So is anybody else going to a midnight release on Friday?

[Phoenix]

I am, although your midnight is before mine. I'm very excited, but if anyone there reveals a plot twist to the crowd/me, I can not guarantee that my fist won't find its way lodged deeply into his/her stomach.

[Gilly]

So is anybody else going to a midnight release on Friday?

I was going to, but seeing as how the closest one is almost an hour away and all my friends who like HP are on vacation, I just ordered it online instead.

[Hisham]

I am probably going to get it the day after.

As much as I like Harry Potter, I hate waiting in lines, so I will wait the day for everything to calm down, and then go the next day.

[Cofey]

I am, although your midnight is before mine. I'm very excited, but if anyone there reveals a plot twist to the crowd/me, I can not guarantee that my fist won't find its way lodged deeply into his/her stomach.
I'm a bit worried about that myself. There can be a hundred decent people waiting in line, but all you need is one jackass to ruin it for everybody.

Although that jackass would probably wind up in a hospital afterwards.

[Kronz]

These launch parties are filled with homos and whining little babies. (So you know, kinda like Phoenix, but better looking.)























j/k

[Phoenix]

Although that jackass would probably wind up in a hospital afterwards.No, I think the nerds there would just try to jinx them if they did that, to no avail, naturally. I'd probably be the only one there who would be willing to give them any Muggle-style hurting.

Send 'em to the hospital all the same, though. Or the morgue if I'm lucky.

[Kronz]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/18/books/18cnd-potter.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=books

Book 7 Review by the New York Times

[Phoenix]

Holy Shi'ites. 6+ deaths? God I hope that list of names on the YTMND main page is a joke...

...Please don't have one of them be Lupin. He's the only one of my favorite characters alive. :'(

[Kronz]

Holy Shi'ites. 6+ deaths? God I hope that list of names on the YTMND main page is a joke...

...Please don't have one of them be Lupin. He's the only one of my favorite characters alive. :'(
Fret not. I'm fairly certain Lupin lives.

Alastor Moody, though... he's gonna die. And I reckon Snape will, as well.

[Hisham]

FUCK...

I guess I will see you all untill I'm done the next book. I didn't want to know anything... Not even the deathtoll.

I'm gonna lock the site from my router...

[Kay B]

They all die, a nuke from china hits the land

[Phoenix]

Hey! Hedwig kills Bellatrix!

[Kronz]

No! Hedwig dies.

[Hisham]

Hedwig claws off Voldemort's balls...

That is.. if he has any...

O_o

[Phoenix]

Not like he needs them.

[Cofey]

I just found out that Pathmark advertised the book for $17.99 in my newspaper today: Saturday and Sunday only, minimum $25 purchase required. My local store is open 24 hours, so I might just go there tomorrow night to avoid the crowds and potential spoilers.

I mean, who's gonna think to give away the Harry Potter ending at midnight at a grocery store right?

[Kronz]

Guys... I think UPS made a mistake, because according to the website, my package is out for delivery today... Which means I get the book before all of you!

July 20, 2007 07:24:12 AM PHOENIX AZ US Out for delivery
July 20, 2007 04:26:00 AM PHOENIX AZ US Departure Scan
July 19, 2007 10:57:00 PM PHOENIX AZ US Arrival Scan
July 19, 2007 02:45:49 PM US Carrier notified to pick up package
July 19, 2007 12:18:00 PM SPARKS NV US Departure Scan
July 19, 2007 02:30:00 AM SPARKS NV US Shipment picked up from seller's facility

HAHAHA!

[Phoenix]

Woot, I get to wait for 4 hours for my book! Yay! *504th in line*

[Gilly]

Woot, I get to wait for 4 hours for my book! Yay! *504th in line*

Lucky bastard.
My book is about 30 minutes away from me right now, and UPS is delivering it sometime tomorrow.
Hopefully early :)

[Phoenix]

Psst... (http://forums.e-mpire.com/showthread.php?t=76645)

[Kronz]

I've got it now... :D !!!

[Hisham]

Damnit.

I gotta wait till 7:30 AM tomorrow.

Anyways, thinking about it, I have come to some speculation about what will happen in the end, but seeing as the book comes out tomorrow, I guess that my speculation doesn't really matter now.

[Ihsiin]

While I was on my way home tonight, I saw people queueing in a bookshop for the new Harry Potter book. This queued went straight out of the door and all the way down the road.
Me and my friends amused ourselves by shouting fake spoilers at them.

[HeroOfTimeGCN]

My girlfriend is the most amazing woman in the world, and I love her more than life itself. She surprised me tonight by calling me from the line at Barnes and Noble for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

She got me a "just for the hell of it" present. I love that woman :D

[Gummy]

Reposting:
My girlfriend's brother got the first book tonight near our area.
She also told me some crazy events that had happened over there.

[Gilly]

Anyone else finish it yet?
What did you think?

[Milly]

I am finished! Well I Finished yesterday.. Im so dissapointed at whom she killed! The end of the book provided a little bit more closure but its kinda depressing that there is no more books =-(

[Hisham]

All I have to say is WOW. And spoilers are in this post so don't read on if you do not want to.

I was right, Harry is a horcrux, but I'll be the first to admit that alot of things I said weren't right. When I heard the confirmation that Dumbledore had said Harry had to die, my heart jumped. But he didn't die, and I felt it wasn't done in a corny way.

The backstory of Dumbledore was also excellent, aswell as we finally got to see more into his past, and finally understand why he did what he did.

I felt the deaths of Lupin and Dora Tonks could have been done ALOT better, because they just seemed like a side mention. And I had a feeling a Weasley was gonna die, but I thought it would have been Percy or Ginny.

I felt overall the ending was done really well, but some parts of the book felt weird to read. I dunno if it is because it was written by a British person, but it felt weird to to read it. More so than the other books anyways.

To me, the books rate as follows 4 > 7 > 5 > 3 > 6 > 1 > 2...

My bad if this post is sloppy, I just finished the book.

[Gilly]

I was extremely pleased with how it ended.
Everything I wanted and more.


As for the Remus and Tonks deaths, they could have been better, but there was so much going on then, I'm okay with how it happened.
Who is raising Teddy now though? I was kinda confused in the epilogue.
When Harry was in the Pensieve and learned what had to be done, I started crying from that point until the "King's Cross" part.
Everyone saw the Snape loving Lily thing happening, but I was happy with what happened to Snape, in life and in death.
The Dumbledore backstory was so awesome.
AND HOW BAD ASS WAS MRS. WEASLEY?!?! That was so cool.



I don't think the movie is going to do this book justice.

[Jonny Royal]

there is no way that a movie can be made from this book and be made decently. It's just too awesome

[Lucent Beam]

Yay, the entire book just got spoiled for me by my best friend!
Good thing I don't really about ever reading them.

[Hisham]

I was extremely pleased with how it ended.
Everything I wanted and more.


As for the Remus and Tonks deaths, they could have been better, but there was so much going on then, I'm okay with how it happened.
Who is raising Teddy now though? I was kinda confused in the epilogue.
When Harry was in the Pensieve and learned what had to be done, I started crying from that point until the "King's Cross" part.
Everyone saw the Snape loving Lily thing happening, but I was happy with what happened to Snape, in life and in death.
The Dumbledore backstory was so awesome.
AND HOW BAD ASS WAS MRS. WEASLEY?!?! That was so cool.



I don't think the movie is going to do this book justice.

I agree. But I also think if everything is taken into account, this could be the easiest book to transform into a movie. Some things seem to lend well to a movie.

Like when I was reading parts of the Battle of Hogwarts, I could see in my mind how possibly the movie could be. But I think the last scene with Voldemort would probably have way to much overacting.

And I was confused about Teddy's fate as well. It seemed to me that he was living on his own or something. Possibly he was living with Andomeda Tonks (Dora's mom). Anyways, the person he was making out with... Was that Bill and Fleurs daughter? That is what I read somewhere else, but I can confirm it right now since my sister took the book with her to work.

And yeah, Mrs. Weasely uttered the only swear word ever in the whole HP series haha. That was awesome. They never tell you what spell she hit Bellatrix with though. I'm guessing Avada Kedavra, but that wouldn't really be in her character now would it.

And Snapes fate. I knew Snape would be a good guy, but the whole connection with Lily caught me off guard. I knew there must have been something after reading HBP for the 2nd time, how she came to his defence, but I wasn't sure if that was just her being kindhearted like everyone said she was.

The elder wand's passing was weird, but for the most part believeable I guess. Draco becomes the true master of it because he disarmed Dumbledore, and then Harry wins over Draco's true wand, which causes the elder wand to be his.

It is sorta depressing that after 9 years, the series is finally comming to an end. I didn't cry once throughout the book, but I did feel some strong emotions in the book. Especially when Dumbledore was explaning his life, and the errors of his youthful days.

And it also sucks that I have the UK Childerens book cover. I would have wanted the Adult or the US cover. US cover was so much more badass than the UK one.

[DankHero]

Can you show us a picture of the other cover

I finished it but everything that has been said really pretty much reflected my views. The epilouge counfused me a bit but mostly because i couldn't follow the kid names.

There were definatly some strong emotions for me. Mostly when he walked into the Headmasters office and all the headmasters applauded.

So was the sword that Neville used to kill the snake the fake sword??

I would have rather had Percy die but that was probably everyones feeling.

I wish Rita Skeeter would have died, somehow.

[Hisham]

http://blog.westervillelibrary.org/teens/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/harry%20potter%20uk%20covers.jpg

Adult on the left, childrens on the right.

[Milly]

Yes the movie for this will be quite interesting I would say.. I would have liked to have known what Dudley saw when he was being attacked by the dementors though..
I would say that Andromena would be looking after Ted. I remember when I was reading the books I ws thinking "I dont remember JK going into any form of details about Lupins and Tonks deaths" I also loved the bit with Mrs Weasly attacking Bellatrix that was a cool part of the book And i loved the fact that Nevil was a stronger person and I was glad that he did kill the snake.. I also thought it was nice that Narcissa helped out harry, that was rather unexpected.. I would however have liked to know What Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny are doing now

[Phoenix]

Mrs. Weasley's wasn't the only swear word in the series. I'm pretty sure "bastard" is a swear word, and while I don't know how much weight "arse" has in Britain, I know that the American "ass" is classified as a swear word in the sense that it was used. "Hell" and "damn" in the book's uses are also arguably swear words, although if they are, they aren't very severe.

Also - Did anyone else think that Mrs. Weasley's "special" line was a hidden nod to the most infamous real-life Harry Potter event?

Now on to how my predictions fared, placed where they belong in spoiler tags.
Prediction #1: Harry lives. I was correct about this. There was no chance that she would just kill him off just to make a clean ending. I only ever doubted this for a short while after he "dies", but then I immediately got back to insisting that he comes back.

Prediction #2: Snape is evil. I was wrong. I figured that everyone would be expecting what would happen: Snape killing Dumbledore was part of Dumbledore's plan. I did not imagine that she would make that happen, and rather put a more interesting and surprising plot twist. Oh well, at least Snape is a much cooler character now.

Prediction #3: Hermione dies. Wrong again; I'm bad at this. :P I figured that Sirius and Dumbledore died because they were too helpful to Harry, and he needed to face Voldemort alone and unaided. Hermione seemed to be the person who provided the most help for Harry, and seemed like a very possible death that would be very shocking. I guess her protectiveness didn't do much good outside of a school setting, so she had lived.

Prediction #4: Neville kills/tortures Bellatrix. My first prediction that was actually a popular guess among fans, yet it was as wrong as my unpopular ones. What he did to Nagini was pretty cool, though. Slightly redeeming myself for that...

Prediction #5: The character who becomes a professor who is "not who you think" is Neville. Bingo. "It's not who you think" pretty much rules out Hermione, and Harry and Ron did not seem like the teaching types. Not even an idiot would let Luna anywhere near a teaching job, and there really weren't many characters left that were young and significant enough. I had suspicions that he would be something other than Herbology as a little plot twist at the end, but I never really made a full prediction.

Prediction #6: Percy becomes Minister of Magic. I have no idea. The comment near the end had me suspecting that he was still in the Ministry despite his resigning, and since it was hardly a formal announcement, I doubt that he really resigned, especially with the corruption being gone from the Ministry. My guess is it's either him or still Kingsley, but they say that Kingsley was temporary and there is no evidence for Percy, so I don't know. Did anyone else notice any hints, or even a straight answer that I overlooked?

Those are all I remember for now. Now for some comments about the plot:

-I'm pretty sure, Dank, that Neville used the real sword. It came from the Sorting Hat, and the fake sword shouldn't have been able to kill a Horcrux.

-I am pissed that Lupin died. He was so cool and was my favorite living character. It just irks me even more how unceremoniously his death was, and how it wasn't even necessary for the plot for him to die. He was just another Redshirt. She could have killed a bunch of other people for the same effect, like one of the professors or even George if they had to, but she had to choose someone as cool as Lupin. I guess she didn't want to have to add a death from old age to the epilogue to take away from the happy mood of it? That's the only reason I can think of.

-That's pretty lame of her, killing Fred like that. He's just a spare; he and George are practically the same character. She could have done more with it if she chose to do something so pointless.

-Teddy's girlfriend I'm pretty sure is from Bill and Fleur. It would make sense, since his name was French and they would both be half-werewolves. I'm as confused as anyone as to who is raising him, though.

-Yes, Mrs. Weasley was awesome. I didn't feel comfortable going into that specific detail when I mentioned it earlier in this post, but I have a suspicion to her screaming "YOU BITCH!" at Bellatrix being a reference to the infamous video with "Hey! Snape Kills Dumbledore." "NOOOOOOOOOOO! YOU BITCH!"

-Speaking of Mrs. Weasley, that is just one of the reasons I tend to not swear very much. If these books were like a Samuel L. Jackson movie, that line would be entirely unnoticed, but since the language remains mostly clean, that one line has so much more force and will probably be one of the more memorable lines once these books are no longer so new. The less you use the words, the more power they have if you ever do have a reason to use them.

-I wanted to see Harry use Avada Kedavera. He used Crucio in book 5 and Imperio in this book, so I assumed that he would use it by the end. Guess he didn't.

-Am I the only one who thought that Harry's duel with Voldemort was extremely anticlimactic? All he did was use Expelliarmus at the right time and he died. I would have at least liked to see a cooler finishing, like using AK with Voldemort's own wand against him after catching it. That would also have satisfied the above bullet.

-I would have wanted to see what houses James, Albus, Hugo, Rose, Teddy and Scorpio were in. I wouldn't mind seeing Lily too, but seeing that she was too young in the epilogue and they would have to fast-forward two years for that, I definitely did not expect anything of the sort. I'd imagine Albus to make Slytherin, and Rose to make Ravenclaw, and probably the rest would be likely in their parents' houses. If this were an actual novel rather than just my imagination, I might see Scorpio ending up elsewhere as a small surprising plot element.

-Rowling did say in an interview that this story would be definitely finished, but to "never say never" about continuing books in this universe. Maybe if she ends up missing these books too much she could end up writing about the next generation. I'd like to see that, but I'd probably be in my mid-twenties or older by the time that those would come out.

-Good book overall, but it did lack the lighthearted charm of the other books that made the serious events have that much more power. Luckily, the ending had enough power to make up for it, but around the middle it isn't quite so.

So, my last two questions, that if anyone knows the answer, I'd like to know:

-Who is Minister of Magic? If it isn't Percy, what is he?
-Who is raising Teddy Lupin?
Uhh... That's about it. Your thoughts?

[Gilly]

Answers to your questions, Growlithe:

Percy was mentioned in the epilogue as being at the train, so I don't think the Minister of Magic would be just hanging out there. I could be wrong though.
and I think Ted's grandmother is going to raise him, since they didn't kill her.

Other things:
I think the sword out of the hat was the real sword.
The sorting hat would have the ability to conjure up the sword from wherever it was (w/ Griphook), and like Growlithe said, the fake couldn't kill a horcrux.
I think Albus would be in Gryffindor, because he was dead set against Slytherin, and the Hat listened to Harry, so why wouldn't it listen to him?
About the final battle, I think it was right for Harry to use Expelliarmus, because for one, Avada Kevadra is the worst curse ever and he's not evil enough to use it, and two, Expelliarmus is his signature curse.

I was happy that Percy came back and admitted his mistakes, and I was happy/surprised that Hagrid didn't die. I figured since they killed all of Harry's mentors previously, he'd be next to go.

watch this if you want to laugh your ass off
EDIT: I couldn't embed it for some reason
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx1XIm6q4r4

[Phoenix]

Harry uses Crucio and a lot of characters, including him, use Imperio like it were nothing. It's pretty obvious that they believe that those curses are not evil if used for the good of their anti-Voldemort cause. If Harry would use Imperio to get a Horcrux and Crucio just because he's angry, what would keep him from using Avada Kedavera to actually kill Voldemort?
That video was hilariously lame until the end, at which point it was just hilarious. :spit:

EDIT:
It's also pretty neat how in the end Dudley turns out alright. Speaking of which, Rowlings said that something more about Petunia would be revealed. What was it? Was she an uneducated witch or something? I didn't really catch that part.

[Hisham]

What I was thinking is that she might have been a Squib. They didn't reveal too much about it, but there is a part of Snape's memory, where there was a letter telling her that she could not attend Hogwarts.

And I read this on another forum, and found it to be very well written, and probably one of the best analysis' on the book, and the epilogue. I am not going to put spoiler tags on this tho, because it is a long read, just don't read anything past this sentance if you don't wish to be spoiled.

















Harry lived, Harry should have, shouldn't have; weak epilogue, just enough of an epilogue, not enough epilogue, too much epilogue?

My opinions:

Riddle, Snape, and Harry all had terrible childhoods and the latter two really never had a chance to have any sort of life. Riddle let the lack of love take him down, Snape had ONE love that allowed him to remain good at the core despite the fact he lived in limbo due to his own guilt. I too once thought Harry had to die, and in a way he did, in order to make the necessary sacrifice to stop LV: in fact, due to being an adherent of the Changeling Hypothesis (Harry as Horcrux), i thought that was about the only way things COULD come out. But now I find the ending isn't as Disneyfied as i had at first thought. Upon reflection...

That Harry gets to go on and have the life none of them would have is sort of like he's doing it for Snape too. Of the three orphaned boys to whom Hogwarts was home, if they were all to have died after having such brutally pruned lives would have been too much for me. After all that kid's been through, he deserved to live, and the fact that he managed to do so and yet STILL make the necessary sacrifice (really, the INTENTION of giving oneself up for others, that long walk to the gallows was enough for me in the end) is an impressive twist in and of itself, i think, rather than a cop-out.

I always read that prophecy as less of a prediction of 'who lives, who dies' than as a discussion on a state of being. Harry has never really had the chance to live. Not really; not since October 31 at 15 months old. Because of his connection to Voldything, he couldn't truly LIVE till the Thing was gone from his head and life. "Neither can live while the other survives..." to me always had two meanings. Voldy couldn't 'live' while Harry survived because a piece of him was in Harry, who was also filled with the power of love. Voldy was always more hung up on the mechanics of everything, the obvious bits. To him it was all about whether you were physically alive or dead and how you could control that (an interesting reflection of that mindset being *Professor* Snape's comment to Dumbledore that "Souls? We're talking of minds!" He didn't fully get it either, though he was a lot closer than Voldy, whose search for immortality blinded him to the truth BEHIND life and death; the meaning of it all. Prof. Snape was the halfway point between the two. LV never lived at all because he never had any love at all; SS had SOME love, though never enough to ever FULLY live. But Harry had ALL of his parents' love, was filled UP with it so that even its lack from fifteen months until eleven years could not drag him down to where poor SS had been stuck his entire life. And yet he too could never fully LIVE, because until he got rid of Riddle, his entire life was shadowed by that one fact (the prophecy, the piece of LV in his head), bound up in counting down to a fight to the death.

Now as it regards the much maligned epilogue; it would have annoyed me more if we'd gotten the details that so many people felt we lacked; and with Prof. Snape's sacrifice, we couldn't have got nothing at all! That epilogue wasn't about Harry and the kids growing up and being okay; it was a vehicle to giving us a tribute to the lost life of a man who never got to live, but gave up any chance of it for a kid he despised, but loved all the same for the sake of his mother. It gave us just that and no more; and that's why the conversation revolved around Slytherin vs Gryffindor again; that and the fact it pointed out that Harry has learned his lesson; that his immediate and hardline prejudices of the preceding six books were but a symptom of the same problem that had just torn the WW to pieces, and that he'd learned to judge people as they ARE and believe that ANYONE had the potential to be great/good no matter what labels we put on them. That EVERY life is worthwhile.

Besides; I like the idea that we're smart enough and imaginitive enough to come up with our own rebuilding of the Wiz World and a filling in of the blanks. The important thing was to bring it full circle: well LOVED rather than neglected kids, going off to school without a shadow hanging over their heads (the fact their parents had done a good job rebuilding their school, lives, and world was implied, and like the name Victoire, expected that the readers were intelligent enough to do precisely that, and fill in the blanks themselves). The main thing is that we had the chance to see a tribute to Severus Snape's tortured life and self-sacrifice for which there wasn't time previous (though I must say the bit with the doe patronus and his last sight being Lily's eyes nearly slaughtered me, and I defy even the Snape-haters to have remained unmoved).

The bit with the second son's name just killed me, and it seems obvious to me that it was there because Harry was obviously too dazed and everything was happening too fast for him to fully react to his Snape revelations in situ. We needed to know that Harry's childish tendency toward instant prejudice was tempered by *Professor* Snape's sacrifice, making him worthy to rebuild a better Wiz world rather than one with the same prejudices overall that had torn it apart in the first place. It was a world that had stagnated for too long, and was shaken up in the worst way; and Harry has not only been our lens into that world but a reflection of its prejudices, having absorbed that polarization practically from the first day. IMO, that's why his kid had the name he did. I mean, did any of us doubt if he lived there'd be a James (probably with the middle name of Sirius), an Albus and a Lily in there? There wasn't time to properly honour Snape when he died; they were in the middle of the ultimate battle of a decades-long war, and sacrifices in war have to be mourned after the fact. But I must say that if there hadn't been a tribute to Severus Snape's sacrifice somewhere before the end, i would have had a fit. That's what that epilogue was all about--to give that kid who was the tribute a place to be mentioned--and it did the trick. That name made me cry. It was an excellent tip of the hat to a life mangled to ribbons that yet still managed to make good due to the redemptive power of love. Call me cheesy, but like with Hannibal Lecter in the NOVEL "Hannibal", I'll take it. Otherwise this would be a book with no hope of a better future, but one in which it would be too easy to see the thing devolve right back into the same state it was in before, never learning from its mistakes. With all the slaugher and torture and death, some kind of hopeful ending was necessary or the the thing would have been terribly depressing. Young Albus Severus was a metaphor for a new Wiz World...and that epilogue was but a showcase of that hopeful possibility. All in all, about the best we could hope for, IMO. One woman cannot do EVERYTHING for EVERYONE!!!

As for the rest of the epilogue; I will reiterate that I rather like not having all 19 years spelled out. Lets me fill in the blanks in my own head, gives me some credit for imagination on my own. Which I have already done, LOL.

Predictions, anyone?

Personally I think, being as how school was ridiculously disrupted not just for DA members but for anyone who was Muggle-born, etc, Hogwarts will allow any number of students to repeat years to catch up. What they'll do for sleeping space for the incoming first years, i couldn't say. I believe that after the boys go with Hermione to retrieve and de-obliviate her parents, the DA and Order folks will spend the summer variously helping to put Hogwarts back together and helping to put things to rights in the wider wizarding world. Then I believe that those who wish to will finish/go back to school, if in a bit jumbled fashion as to ages and years; ie Harry and Ginny will be in the same year for seventh year. I mean, really, could you imagine HERMIONE not taking her NEWTS?! It's not this entire generation of kids' fault they missed so much school or got bad schooling (think of the kids who were being treated like the Holocaust for being Muggle-born! They certainly weren't in school!!!)...and a government still trying to get back on its feet cannot afford to have the incoming workforce come in badly or un-trained. They'd lose too many talents. Since much of this is modeled after WWII, remember that most of Europe had to finish school late in the late '40s. It happens when war disrupts a country/world. So I think they'll do school and pick up the bits that no one but Hermione the amazing speed-reader has picked up on their own, all the while chafing at a year spent at school when they could be helping to get a jump on putting some equality into their world. They'll have to rely on Shacklebolt and other Order members to keep tabs on the rebuilding of the ministry; and besides, Harry has EARNED the right to just have a normal school year! Never has had one yet! And if he wasn't sequestered in Hogwarts...he'd be paraded around like a figurehead; and as it is it'll be hard for him to remain in the Wiz World at all and have a normal life, with all he's done.

So yes; I believe the boys'll do Auror training while Hermione becomes an activist within the Ministry to rebuild the wizarding world from its medeival political roots; bringing in shocking ideas like democracy, elections, equal rights for all citizens (including non-humans, etc) to the table. I mean, who better than a Muggle-born to do it?! People might be willing to listen now the thing has to be rebuilt from the ground up and everyone's feeling guilty over the obvious out of control results of their prejudices. Think Germany after WWII. I think Teddy Lupin will follow in her footsteps, ending up fighting for werewolf rights; Neville and Luna will get together; Dean and Seamus get together (those two are made for each other, LOL); and Harry, annoyed with buckling to the strictures of Ministry-employed life, torn between his dedication to making the WW a better place and his need for something like a normal life, will become a sort of anti-dark wizard consultant that doesn't have to punch into the office every day, and can help Hermione and Ron rally support for equal rights for non-humans. After all, he will be a figurehead for the rest of his life, like it or not, and he'll probably end in trying to make that work for the good of all rather than hiding in obscurity. It's just not his style; and besides, having Ginny and a normal family will be enough to counterbalance all of that. I always saw Ginny as a steadying influence on him, unlike Hermione (sorry HH shippers).

However, the main thing is, Harry gets to have a FAMILY for a change; and since he doesn't really need to work (the kid is rich), I don't doubt that'd be his first priority. The epilogue at least showed that through enormous effort, our menagerie of heroes managed to put things to rights, and probably better than they were before. How, we must extrapolate. Gives us something to do besides mourn the ending of the series. My biggest quibble was with Draco Malfoy. I REALLY thought he'd have a more decisive shift in the final showdown...but it was Narcissa who did it for him. Interesting.

Cheers, all!

[Milly]

Yeah I thought that too i was wondering if she was a witch or was jealous of Lily and wanted to be like her because she sent a letter to the headmaster asking to come to Hogwarts... I also thought they would tell us a) What harrys parents did for a living and b) What Dudley saw when faced with the dementors.

[Hisham]

Dunno if I need this spoiler tag here, but I'm gonna put it just in case.

I heard some theories that Crookshanks was Lily's cat. You know, the one Harry was scaring when he was a 1 year old. I'm not so sure about it, but that could explain why Crookshanks was so quick to try and kill Scabbers, and how s/he was quick to trust Sirius. But I'm sure somebody would have noticed that Crookshanks was Lily's cat.

Crazy theory, but the evidence is there. JK Rowling probably didn't know how to fit it into the last book though I guess.

[DankHero]

i also agree that Petunia wanted to go to Hogwarts, but she couldn't because she was magic-less (muggle or Squib) which therefore made her destest the magical folk

[Gilly]

It said before that Lily was a muggle-born, which would mean that Petunia was just a normal muggle, rather than a squib. She found out about the wizarding world and wanted to be a part of it, and when she got denied, she turned her back on it.

I don't think Dudley saw anything when the dementors came, because they are invisible to muggles, and I was really happy that he turned out good in the end.

[DankHero]

Yea that pretty much made my day, about Dudley. Especially when it dawned on Harry about the tea cup

[Jonny Royal]

It was a very heartwarming beginning

[Cofey]

Finally finished it last night, and WOW!
I didn't expect that ending, but I absolutely loved it! It seems everyone had it both right and wrong at the same time.

Harry was a horcrux, which surprised me because I felt so strongly that he HAD to live. Just as others felt equally strongly that he HAD to die. And he did die (sort of), and he still lived.

I was sooooo glad that Harry, Ron, and Hermione all lived. I was very upset by Lupin's death, and Dobby's, but none so much as Fred's. Out of everything that happened in this book, that was the biggest blow to me. I had it bad enough when George lost his ear, but when Fred kicked it I just felt absolutely miserable.

I felt that the Epilogue was good, but rather corny.

And in reference to the question about Teddy Lupin, I think it's possible that Harry raised him. After all, in the Epilogue he would have been 19 years old, and being of age could possibly be living on his own at this point. I think one of Harry's kids said something that may seem to contradict this, but I believe Harry raised Teddy. It was after Lupin and Tonks died, having named Harry the godfather, that I became absolutely 100% sure that Harry would not die, and for that very reason.

[Hisham]

It said before that Lily was a muggle-born, which would mean that Petunia was just a normal muggle, rather than a squib. She found out about the wizarding world and wanted to be a part of it, and when she got denied, she turned her back on it.

I don't think Dudley saw anything when the dementors came, because they are invisible to muggles, and I was really happy that he turned out good in the end.

It isn't if Dudley saw the dementors (because muggles can't see them), it is what was the dark and worst memory that he had to relive after being told in all the books he was basically a pampered little brat. Would the memory have had some significance? After seeing how he ended up being sorta decent, the memory may have had something to do with Harry leaving or something like that.

[Cofey]

It isn't if Dudley saw the dementors (because muggles can't see them), it is what was the dark and worst memory that he had to relive after being told in all the books he was basically a pampered little brat. Would the memory have had some significance? After seeing how he ended up being sorta decent, the memory may have had something to do with Harry leaving or something like that.

It can't have had anything to do with Harry leaving; the Dementor attack happened two years before Harry left the Dursleys.

[Phoenix]

Dean and Seamus getting together? ...What?!

Otherwise, interesting analysis.

Perhaps Petunia was a witch, but chose not go to Hogwarts because of her obsession with being normal? Was there anything in the book that said that she truly wanted to go? Like I said, I didn't read that part too clearly.

[Cofey]

Dean and Seamus getting together? ...What?!

Otherwise, interesting analysis.

Perhaps Petunia was a witch, but chose not go to Hogwarts because of her obsession with being normal? Was there anything in the book that said that she truly wanted to go? Like I said, I didn't read that part too clearly.
Petunia wrote a letter to Dumbledore asking him to allow her into Hogwarts, but Dumbledore refused.

[Phoenix]

I see.

[Hisham]

It can't have had anything to do with Harry leaving; the Dementor attack happened two years before Harry left the Dursleys.

When I said Harry leaving, I meant to go to Hogwarts... Perhaps even the tiniest bit of Dudley wanted him to stay, and he was sad that Harry had left... That could perhaps have been his saddest memory (altho sorta stupid) and that is what the Dementors made him relive.

And Petunia was probably a muggle or at best a squib (could explain some of the stuff she knew... like Dementors being the guards of Azkaban). She wasn't a full fledged witch in any case.

[Cofey]

Petunia can't be a Squib. This has already been stated above. Her parents were Muggles, that has been firmly established in the books. A Squib's parents have magic, Petunia's didn't. She's just a plain old Muggle.

[Phoenix]

Non-magic parents + magic child = Muggle-born (Lily, Hermione, etc.)
Non-magic parents + non-magic child = Muggle (Petunia, myself, etc.)
Magic parents + magic child = wizard/witch (Harry, Ron, etc.)
Magic parents + Non-magic child = Squib (Filch, Figg, etc.)

I'd imagine that his "brother" whom he has always grown up believing himself to be higher than him in life being sent off to learn magic while he stayed alone would be Dudley's worst memory.

[Cofey]

^Took me a minute to work that sentence out.

[Phoenix]

Doesn't help that I said "as" instead of "has."

[DankHero]

don't think it needs it but... oh i like that thought, because really what kid in the world doesn't want to do magic?

[Cofey]

So by the way, how fantastic was Neville in this book? He was always the forgetful, clumsy little nerd. But when all hope was lost, when Harry Potter was presumed dead and the whole castle stood in despair facing Voldemort and the Death Eaters, he was the only one to come forward in definace. It was such a powerful moment.

And then he killed Nagini.....oh man was he awesome!

[Phoenix]

Neville was awesome. Seeing him lead the resistance gang was pretty powerful too.

[Gilly]

So by the way, how fantastic was Neville in this book? He was always the forgetful, clumsy little nerd. But when all hope was lost, when Harry Potter was presumed dead and the whole castle stood in despair facing Voldemort and the Death Eaters, he was the only one to come forward in definace. It was such a powerful moment.

And then he killed Nagini.....oh man was he awesome!

Yeah, that was awesome.

[Hisham]

Slice!

Yeah I loved that part, it was so awesome.

And I thought squibs could do little bits of magic? I'll drop the subject tho, because I realised Petunia knew about the dementors because you see in Snape's memory you see him telling Lily and Petunia about the dementors.

[Phoenix]

I don't know whether you know this or not, but just to be sure, let me remind you/everyone that in order to be a Squib, your parents can't be both Muggles.

[Hisham]

You sure about that?

I never saw any indication of that in the book. Just like muggles can have magical kids (probably more because of the fact that they had magical ancestors) they can have squibs who aren't able to perform magic well. But yeah I realize it is a stupid idea, but I am just trying to satisfy what JK said.

[Cofey]

Let's end this once and for all, please:
A Squib is a person of wizarding heritage who lacks magical ability; as Ron Weasley explains, Squibs are, in essence, the opposite of Muggle-born wizards.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_purity_%28Harry_Potter%29#Squibs

[DankHero]

Yea Neville was pretty much fantastic.

[Hisham]

I'm gearing up to read the book again. Probably some time next week.

[Milly]

Yeah Neville was Awesome in this book how he kept the DA going and dealt with the punishments, Snape also went up alot of ranks in my book. Because he did something that cause ALOT of people to hate him, yet he continued to put his life in danger to help the cause.. However I still think the name Albus Severus is the worst name in existance

[Phoenix]

His middle name is "Severus." It's not all his first name, so that's OK. Also, his initials are ASP. Sounds like a Slytherin to me.

[Hisham]

Haha well, JKR just annouced an encyclopedia of Harry Potter stuff.

Spoiler warning ahead...










In an interview with the Today Show, JK Rowling revealed who the character is that received a reprieve in Deathly Hallows. Highlight between the arrows to read who it is! --> Arthur Weasley <--

Additionally, Jo announced that she "probably will" create a Harry Potter encyclopedia! From NBC's website:

The encyclopedia would include back stories of characters she has already written but had to cut for the sake of narrative arc (“I've said before that Dean Thomas had a much more interesting history than ever appeared in the books”), as well as details about the characters who survive “Deathly Hallows,” characters who continue to live on in Rowling’s mind in a clearly defined magical world.

Mugglenet.com

[DankHero]

i will be purchasing that

[Phoenix]

I most likely will too.

[Milly]

Im glad that she didnt kill of Arthur, and if that Encyclopedia comes out I will be buying that also.

[Gilly]

Don't click this link if you don't wanna be spoiled
It has info about what the trio did after school
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19959323/

[Hisham]

Hahah damnit Gilly, I was about to post that link. Anyways it is still intresting. And I will probably be buying the encyclopedia as well.

[Gaul]

I would just like to state my opinion on the argument over whether the sword that comes from the sorting hat was the fake or the true sword.

Most of your reasonings for it being the real sword was "the fake couldnt kill a horcrux". Thats completely ridiculous. If thats true, then since harry is a horcrux, then the only ways to kill him would be the select few means of destroying a horcrux. Im assuming the rules of a horcrux are different if the horcrux is a living thing. Otherwise Harry is impervious to almost everything.

That reason for the sword being the real one is poorly thought out, but i still think its the real one. i dont see why the hat would produce the fake sword instead of the actual one.

[Phoenix]

It says that it takes extremely powerful magical means of destroying something. If basilisk venom can do it, I assume Avada Kadavera could.

[Gaul]

Then why did they not just use that on the horcruxes, instead of relying upon the sword of gryffindor?

And before you say what i think youll say, yes i know the spell is supposed to be "evil", but the only one harmed by using it in this case is voldemort, so i hardly see how they could consider it such in this situation

[Phoenix]

It is the worst of the Unforgivable Curses, and the curse that killed his parents. Also, it is supposedly a very difficult cures, and one that he has never learned to use.

[Gaul]

Perhaps, but don't you think they at least would have considered the idea of using it? especially since in this case, they arent even using it on another person. Unless you count voldemort, and i am convinced no one considers him a "person" at that point in the story". They are completely at a loss as to how they will destroy the horcruxes until ron and hermione come up with the chamber of secrets idea. And it seems to me, the most important thing at that point would be to finish off voldemort as fast as possible to stop his claiming of lives. It almost seems selfish that they would continue on, playing it by ear when it came to how they would destroy the remaining horcruxes.

The fact that harry used the imperious curse on innocents earlier in the book only supports this.

[Phoenix]

Hmm, perhaps it only works on animals. That would make sense, after all...

[curryking1]

I finished the book a while ago, basically in like 3 days? I bought the book, but I ended up reading half of it online hahaha. Oh torrents... anywho, I finished the book with the hardcopy...

Anywho again though, I loved the book. The beginning was dreadfully slow and boring but it finally picked up to a satisfying pace and a nice ending with some enjoyable moments with Dumbledore and etc etc.

One problem however I have with JK Rowling's writing style... she rarely uses exclamations or stylizes the narrative for added effect, the intensity is generally portrayed through the dialogue. The narrative is more just 'explaining' the intensity rather than adding to it in my opinion.

For some scenarios I think the writing style is perfect like where... nothing is really happening or there is filler or there is some very brisk and casual scene. And also there was this one particular part where I found this writing style was ideal...
When Nagini (?) the snake pops out the body of the witch in Godric's Hollow. I thought I was put right in the shoes of the character because it almost took me a little while to realise that the snake popped out of the witch and I was like 'Holy crap, that was effing awesome.'

I wish there was some more fun and creative and suspense and other feeling in the narrative. Including the continuation of the scene I just described in the spoiler tags that is probably filled with action and destruction and velocity. For an action sequence it was described disturbingly.. cordial? Quiet? I dunno, I just felt the words and writing style could've matched the pain of some scenes, speed of other scenes, and then depression of others etc etc. In a number of scenes it works, but I found for far many the writing style should've been more appropriate for the scene.

But whatevs! I loved the book still! Can't believe Harry Potter is over.

Also, if anyone wants to check this out, this is some more Harry Potter lore. The Toronto Star had an article on their site where JK Rowling revealed some more details about the future Harry Potter and the futures of other characters, like their jobs and stuff. Cool read :)

Rowling tells of Potter's Future (http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/Books/article/241415)

And now I've googled the Toronto Star and figured out they post their horoscope stuff online! Awesome!! :):):)