actual thoughts on Deathly Hallows

[seldear]

I loved it!

It will never be as loved as my favourite of the books, Prisoner of Azkaban, but it's still a great ending to the series.

the good stuff

The trio's adventures hunting horcruxes were awesome, and the final battle in Hogwarts? BRILLIANT!

Neville as the leader of the DA! Neville killing Nagini! The DA having rebelled against Snape and making trouble! McGonagall and the teachers going into the fray.

McGonagall charming the desks and the suits of armour to join in the fray!

Luna rocks my socks. I love how she totally "gets" Harry and his state of mind: "I'd want some time alone, if it were me."

(Yes, I am a total Harry/Luna 'shipper.)

The opening section (before the horcrux hunt) were great: so much humour - especially from the Weasley twins! Oh George. Oh Fred. *loves you both*

I loved the way the Ron/Hermione relationship changed, but also the whole part with the trio, living cheek-by-jowl, growing frustrated and annoyed, intimate and distant by turns, but always together. The Trio rocks - and if Harry is the focal point and Hermione the brains, then Ron's surely the heart and anchor of the three - without him, both Harry and Hermione find it difficult to connect with each other.

Plus, Voldemort ships H/Hr! *dies laughing*

the not-so-good stuff

I had issues, of course.

The book is "packed full of jam" as Vala Mal Doran would say. I sorta felt that there were so many events crammed, jammed, and sometimes rammed in there, occasionally gracelessly, that there was never time to breathe.

And the repetition of "go in somewhere dangerous, everything goes bad, get the hell out of there" got a bit wearisome after a while: the Ministry of Magic, Malfoy Manor, Gringotts, Hogwarts...

On the whole, though, it was worth the wait and the fuss and the flutter.

I'm not sure how much wank there'll be: part of the wankiness after Half-Blood Prince was that there was still one volume to go - nothing was set in stone. (And even if it was, stone can be broken!)

But now, and with the epilogue, it's a lot more difficult for people to go off their wank about it.

*goes back and reads HBP again*

Comments

[hwcarnage.livejournal.com]

My only problems with it, and they're not really even probs

Hr said she made her rents think they wanted to live in australia - then in the cafe she said she had never modified memories before *scratches head*

and she should have left the last word at 'scar'

:)

[seldearslj.livejournal.com]

You know, I didn't even pick up on that!

But then, I was reading really fast at that point...

[hwcarnage.livejournal.com]

I thought of another one:

She kept calling Harry's jumpers 'sweaters' SRSLY?!?!?

In one paragraph he put on his 'sweater' and by the end of it HR was putting on a 'jumper'

*screams*

[seldearslj.livejournal.com]

Damn americanisation!

[alliesings.livejournal.com]

Yes, that really bugged me. Hermione's supposed to be the smart one. Maybe her memory has been modified ;)

[seldearslj.livejournal.com]

Or maybe, just possibly, it's that thing known as a continuity error...

These things happen from time to time...

[alliesings.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah, it's called a continuity error in my personal notes, but I have the habit of attempting to attribute everything to plot somehow.

[seldearslj.livejournal.com]

LOL. Yeah, I do that, too, I guess.

There's just some times when you just can't call it "a continuity error."

[hwcarnage.livejournal.com]

LOL yes!

I know the books can't be perfect, but I like to think that they should come close ;)

[roguish-angel.livejournal.com]

i loved it too! and yes i'm a H/Hr shipper, but i'm one of those rare kinds that saw the ship had died and decided not go 'wonko'

i thought that the whole 19 years later was a bit... fanfictiony?

plus she HAD to kill my fav characters didn't she!!

JK hates me....

[seldearslj.livejournal.com]

Aww. I daresay that if she hates you, she hates a lot of other fans as well!

But Remus/Tonks was both sad and sweet. :(

[seldearslj.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes. Dumbledore's history and his darker side? His repeated refusal to become Minister of Magic because of his awareness of his power-lust?

So very good. Very powerful, very 'Ouch!'

[madjm.livejournal.com]

One complaint I had (unless I missed it in my feverish reading) was that we didn't get to see something terrible and painful (and/or fatal) happen to Umbridge.

[seldearslj.livejournal.com]

No, I don't think anything more dreadful happened to Umbridge than the hexing in the Ministry.

I guess JKR only had time to deal with Voldemort and the Dementors.

[allisnow.livejournal.com]

Plus, Voldemort ships H/Hr! *dies laughing*

See, that just proves H/Hr is the Ship of Evil. Not to mention incest ;)

[seldearslj.livejournal.com]

*snorts*

[cheekygal.livejournal.com]

I was very satisfied with the book overall. Yes, the pacing needed work at times. I did want more information about what Harry & crew were doing nineteen years later (aside from procreating), but it was a good finish to show the next generation heading off to Hogwarts.

Tonight, I need to hunt down more fanfic. ;)

[seldearslj.livejournal.com]

LOL. I think the fanfic archives are getting a good workout in the next few days. I went back and read my favourite chapter of one of my favourite fanfics. :)

And I've already found post-DH fanfic. A good one, too!

[sleekuk.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed it too - read it yesterday and finished at midnight. (Had to re-read the final duel this morning though as was a bit confeused when I read it last night.)

Overall I was satisfied with it - it tied up most ends neatly enough but I could imagine a 'director's cut' version coming out with more detail about what happens to some of the characters - the Malfoys, Hagrid, the Dursleys etc etc. And what's the link to the good post-DH fanfic please?!

[seldearslj.livejournal.com]

Pointless (http://fernwithy.livejournal.com/620019.html) by fernwithy.

Teddy Lupin discovers just how his parents died.

[sleekuk.livejournal.com]

Aww. Shall read it now. :/

I found one in an lj deathly hallows fic community (dh_fanfic) which sets out how Tonks and Remus die which is quite good. http://biggrstaffbunch.livejournal.com/53992.html (Well, I skipped mostly to the end!)

Hang on - what time is it Down Under?!

[seldearslj.livejournal.com]

um...nearly 1am.

I was going to go to bed early tonight. It just didn't happen...

[sleekuk.livejournal.com]

Go to bed now then young lady ;)

(p.s. was it just me or did anyone else think that Harry telling Voldemort that everyone was now protected from him because he died for them a little bit Christ-like?!?)
(p.p.s Is that why Harry felt nothing when Voldemort cruico'd him when he thought he was dead?)

[seldearslj.livejournal.com]

Well, the whole Harry story has a lot of Christian allegory to it.

Harry is the chosen one: the only one who can even hope to defeat Voldemort. He is given all the opportunities to turn into a creature like Voldemort and resisted them all. Self-sacrificial love is crucial to Harry's success - although it works both ways for Harry: both others for him, and him for others. He dies and rises again and goes on to defeat Voldemort...

*laughs* As I saw someone put it: "How much more obvious can she be? Harry dies once and goes to Kings Cross!"

I don't know that it has to be meaningful that way, though.

In answer to the 2nd question, I think that the "feeling nothing" is related to the fact that the Elder Wand belonged to Harry, not Voldemort. As I understood it, the wand could not be used against its true owner - hence Voldie's death at the end when he tried to AK and Harry tried to Expelliarmus.

My opinions only. ;)

[sleekuk.livejournal.com]

Well thanks for your opinions!

And your thought to my second question makes sense. I think my brain was having a hard time taking it all in by that point :)

[calyx.livejournal.com]

I knew that you'd love the Harry/Luna scenes. :D

I kinda got the feeling at the end that Luna and Dean were together. Mainly just from the scene where Dean took her hand and lead her down the steps.

But yeah, she totally gets Harry. Have you seen the new movie yet?

[seldearslj.livejournal.com]

Oh Yes! Went to see it Monday, and adored Evanna Lynch as Luna.

Brilliant and perfect and weird and totally Luna!

Yeah, I got the feeling that Dean and Luna made a couple for at least a little while after the Hogwarts battle. Just a few lines. But I do adore all the scenes where Harry and Luna interact!