Harry Potter - love or hate it?

[.Cat.]

Anyway, I'm glad that Draco survived, grew up, and had a son. But what kind of a name is Scorpio?

True, but was I not the only one who slightly laughed at the line " 'Albus Severus', Harry said quietly."

Further thoughts on this book...

Hermione really annoyed me in this book. All she seemed to do was cry. Normally I find her ok but not this time. Ron, too annoyed me but that's nothing new.

The final pairings totally sucked. Hermione was supposed to end up with Harry (as for Ron and Ginny, I don't really care).

Percy...is still annoying.

Omg- evil!HHR totally wins! They better have this in the movie.

[emmasi]

Hermione really annoyed me in this book. All she seemed to do was cry.

Oh my god, I KNOW! I wanted to slap her sooo many times. One minute she's bitching about having to do "girl" work, like cooking, and the next she's blubbering over a dropped toothpick or something just as irrelevant. Is she a tough, new age chick who can do anything she sets her mind to, or is she a tear-soaked wuss that needs to have Harry or Ron to hold her hand when things get too scary? Make up your mind!

It was like the PMS-struck Hermione of the GOF movie all over again

[flutterby]

Okay! I've read everything! Now here are my thoughts...

That said, I think I'm in love with Bella. Her devotion to the Dark Lord is admirable. She's not a sicophant, clinging to him for reflected glory or Muggle-sport, she truly believed in him and supported him. Gotta respect that.

It's a shame she had to die, but seeing as she killed Sirius, I'm not too cut up about it, lol. I loved the parrallel that was drawn between their deaths. They were family, after all. It was nice to have that connection. I almost wish that Voldemort had have attacked Molly though - a little Crucio! to teach her for messing with his Bella, if nothing else.

That said, Narcissa's devotion to her son was also admirable. The fact that she bold-faced lied to Voldemort about Harry's death was... awesome. (And a little sexy, if I may say so - clawing at Harry's chest and whispering in his ear... What? She's hot!) I must admit that I was surprised that Lucius cared enough to turn his back on the Death Eaters, mid battle. I would have thought him more likely to reject Draco for being too cowardly to finish off Dumbledore.

Anyway, I'm glad that Draco survived, grew up, and had a son. But what kind of a name is Scorpio? Surely some masculine version of Narcissa would have been more appropriate. Narcissus, I guess... Kid woulda been guarenteed pretty at any rate.

I was disappointed that Remus died, but I was expecting it from the outset as I'd accidentally read a spoiler on the internet . I do prefer to be prepared for these things though... and when Harry, Ron and Hermione were serveying the random casualties of battle, I was not at all surprised to see Remus lying there. I was okay with it, particularly since Tonks was with him. Not because they died together, but because that bitch didn't live to make his death all about her .

That scene in the forest with the Resurection Stone made me cry. The whole chapter was brilliantly written, as was Kings Cross (although Dumbledore's explanation of things did drag on - we already heard this information from Rita and Aberforth, we can piece together Albus' side for ourselfs in just a few paragraphs, can't we??).

Snape's story is a different matter, as we rarely heard anything of his life and motives. The memories he had of Lily were sweet as, and I can only pray they're not cut from the movie. One of my favourite scenes of the whole book is where he showed the doe patronus (Lily) to Dumbledore, and said that that's why he's fighting... And interestingly, is it common for friends to share he same patronus? Perhaps this showed that Severus and Lily were soulmates afterall. One wonders, if he had been put into Gryffindor and not Slytherine, would he have learned different morals and values, and been good enough for her then?

I liked at the end when Harry called Voldemort Tom, reducing him to a mortal man, and forcing him to therefore accept mortality and death as an inevitability - not something he could run from or hope to control. It was a nice touch.

The ending itself was almost too easy - a backfired curse... but then, that is how this all started, isn't it? So maybe it was simply an expression of the whole thing coming full circle.

Harry repairing his old wand and resolving to return the Elder Wand to Dumbledore's grave was nice, I thought. Not only did it show Harry's gratitude to the holly and pheonix feather that had kept him alive for 6 and a half long years, it showed that Dumbledore did deserve to own the Elder Wand, because he was a great man. Awesome.

So that's my thoughts on the plot. I shall disguss random lines and images next time, but for now I think this is quite enough

Ok I'm going to try and address all the points I've quoted!

I can't help but hate Bella, I loved Sirius, he's my all time favourite so I was so happy when she died!

I desperately wanted the Malfoys to fight for Harry which, I guess in a way they did and I thought the bit with Narcissa was great but I would have liked more Draco involvement here.

Gutted Lupin died, but I expected it because she always kills my favourite character, but how can you hate Tonks? I think she rocks! Wotcha Harry! I really wanted to know if Teddy had any Werewolf in him, we know he got some of Tonks' powers but any wolfish characteristics?

I agree when it comes to the ressurection stone, that was amazing, you have covered pretty much what I would say about that.

However I have to disagree about Albus' story, I think we needed to hear it from his side, it's sort of tradition that Dumbledore explains it all and in a way it was comforting...I loved when he called Harry a brave man I think that was great, I felt proud of Harry lol. As for Dumbledore not finishing Tom Riddle at a young age, who knows?! Dumbledore always gave people a chance though didn't he? And we wouldn't have had the books if he had!

I found Snapes story a tad bizarre but I liked it all the same, I'm glad we were given a reason why Dumbledore never doubted his loyalty and I knew Sanpe was good. I think it's becasue Snape was in love with Lily that his patronus matched hers, remember when Snape commented on Tonks' new patronus - hers became a werewolf when she fell in love with Lupin. I presume Lily's was a doe because James' was a Stag? I thought Lily was a ravenclaw for some reason, it really confused me when she was sorted into Griffindor...as for Snape being in Griffindor not Slytherin I don't think it would've made a difference to his and Lily's relationship, I reckon it was a close friendship from her side nothing more.

The bit with Harry calling Voldemort Riddle was awesome, it's like the biggest step away from the name You-Know-Who anyone can take, and, as you said highlighted his defeatability. I loved the backfiring curse bit, tied it all up for me, there would have been no way Harry would've won in a duel we've known that all along - the only way Harry could've won is by some obscure unwritten magical law that Voldy was unaware of.

The last bit with the Elder wand was heart warming, I love that Harry showed such respect and proved himself a true deserver of the Hallows - he didn't desire them in the same way that others had which made him able to win them - echoing the bit with the Mirror of Arised in the Philosiphers Stone.

OK now a couple of extra little thoughts - The last chapter in my opinion is the worst chapter from the whole collection put together, in a way it's nice to have a 'happily ever after' but after all the bloodshed etc I expected the ending to be more bittersweet. I felt the deaths of Fred, Lupin and Tonks were not recognised properly, I was more shocked by George's ear and Rufus Sgrimgeour's (sp? I leant the book to someone!) death than those three put together.

I'm sure I could talk for years about this book but for now Go Neville! Go Kreacher! (loved their moments of glory!)

Oh yes one more thing, I just feel the need to defend Hermione!

She keeps Harry and Ron alive! If it weren't for her they'd be long gone (no doubt along with the rest of the Weasleys, that invisibility cloak over Ron at the Lovegoods was genius) I love the way they all need each other - Harry's Magic, Hermione's Intelligence and Ron's Support (Harry can't function without him!) Yes, she cried a lot but think of all the sacrifices she mad, that thing with her parents was inspirational! and choosing Harry over Ron because she had to for the mission?WOW!

[emmasi]

We should get this topic moved to the Spoiler section. Sure it's not H&A, but it'd be so much easier

Interesting you mention the Mirror of Erised. I have a habit of reading chapter names ahead of time (just to see how far I have to go to get there), and when I saw "The Missing Mirror," I immeadiately thought that we were going to find out where Dumbledore had moved it, and that's where the Hogwarts Horcrux, or one of the Hallows, would be hidden - inside the mirror, like the Philosopher's Stone. I can't say who exactly would have made that possible, but it seemed like a good idea at the time... Just the mention of someone wanting to find it but not use it being the only one able to get it.

I also would have liked to find out whether or not Ted was a werewolf. And I must admit that I wasn't sure if Victior was a girl or a boy when I was reading it, lol. Wishful thinking, eh? I just read Wikipedia (I know, I know), and it said that Ted was kissing her inside one of the train carriages. I can't remember if that's true. If so, why was he on the train to Hogwarts? Wouldn't he be 19 - two years older than graduating age...? Or am I thinking of someone else entirely...? Actually, I think I must be confused about that, because I think Oliver Wood was still there as a student in the battle, and I know he's older than Harry... so... help

I thought the epilogue was nice, and people have to remember that it wasn't, strictly speaking, a chapter. The story of Harry Potter ended when he decided to return the Elder wand to Dumbledore's grave. The 19 years later thing was like a bonus scene to tie everything up. It wasn't meant to deal with death, because we'd been dealing with Death for 600 pages - or since the start of the series, in fact. The time for mourning was long over, and Harry knew that the people he loved were happy and safe anyway, so it wasn't necessarily a sad thing to him anymore that they were gone. The book's always been from his point of view, so naturally if he's accepted it and moved on with life, then we, the readers, are expected to as well.

I actually didn't care what they'd all become after Hogwarts, carreer wise. The only things I was interested in were: was Ted a werewolf and was he living with Harry? what happened to Draco? and did Neville become a Herbology Professor? Two out of three ain't bad

Also, I continue to hate Tonks because she had no respect for the grief and loss of others, so therefore I have no sympathy for that fact that no one particularly mourned her death. And to all those non-believers of Sirius & Remus, let me ask you, WHO was at Remus' side in the afterlife, souls destined to be entwined for always?? Was it Tonks?? No it was not. Thank you very much.

[flutterby]

I thought the missing mirror was going to be the one Sirius had, I'm glad Dumbledore (Albus anyways) didn't have it, it wouldn't have made any sense. Dumbledore destroyed the mirror of Erised at the same time as the Philosiphers stone didn't he?

That's a good point about Ted, maybe he just came to see everyone off? He doesn't live with Harry, I'm pretty sure Harry said flippantly 'why don't we just ask him to live with us?!' didn't he? My memory has already started to fail me and I can't check the book as one of my friends has it. Oliver Wood came through the Hogs Head with everyone else, he wasn't there as a student.

My point wasn't that the last chapter should have been full of death/mourning it's just that we didn't have a chance to accept their deaths....like with Dobby's, I think we had enough time....I know that they were mid battle but I don't know, I just felt cheated out of that stage. I like that we found out it was all ok in the end and that Harry defeated Voldemort but the last chapter / epilogue whatever you want to call it was just sickeningly cheesy....Albus Severus? Give me a break! I loved this book and it's my second favourite of the series but I seriously hope she leaves it now and doesn't carry on with stories about the kids.

Lastly, to address your Tonks issues, I can't agree lol, the ressurection stone brought back the people who mattered to Harry, not eachother. Lupin and Tonks are meant to be!

[emmasi]

Lastly, to address your Tonks issues, I can't agree lol, the ressurection stone brought back the people who mattered to Harry, not eachother. Lupin and Tonks are meant to be!

Nuh

Lupin never loved Tonks. He was still greiving for Sirius, and Dumbledore had died not five minutes ago when Tonks announced in front of everyone that she wanted to marry him because Fleur and Bill were doing it...

. He was in shock, and bewildered, and probably just accepted to keep her from causing more of a scene. He regretted it eversince.

Nowhere in the 5th book, when they were apparently falling in love, did we see any connection between them. I certainly didn't anyway, and everyone in the book thought that Tonks had the hots for Sirius (her cousin )! So what if Tonks' patronus was a wolf? All that means is that she was obsessed with Remus, not that she was honestly in love, or that he loved her at all. Snape's patronus was the same as Lily's, but no one here (besides me) seems to think that she felt anything for him... Isn't it the same thing?

My theory's always been that Remus just didn't care anymore. The person he loved was dead, so he might as well keep Tonks happy by marrying her, if that's what she wanted. Besides, she was Sirius' cousin, and he probably felt like he was looking after her for him, or thought that he'd at least be with someone who had the same blood... Not that it really meant anything to him.

You could see it all through the 7th book, how indifferent he was to her. He made no effort to have a proper wedding and invite Harry to it, like Bill and Fleur did. When Ron (pretending to be Harry) was holding onto Tonks' back, and felt awkward about it in front of Remus, Remus didn't even seem to notice or care. I don't think he even acknowledged it as being funny - there was just no emotion there.

Then he wanted to run away and join Harry's quest, and Harry had no hesitation in assuming that it was because Remus didn't want to be with Tonks. Wouldn't he have been shocked, if he ever thought that Remus and Tonks were "meant to be?" Then Remus said that his concern was for the baby - that, I believe - but even so, it sounded clear that he never intended to get Tonks pregnant. It had to be an accident, the way he was freaking out over it, and whether the baby would be affected by the wolf in him. If they'd planned it together, he would have researched it more thoroughly. He was the Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher - surely he'd have some books on the topic?? If not... well, Remus isn't the type of person who would be willing to risk an innocent child's suffering for his own selfish wants; Tonks is. I have decided, therefore, that it may not have been an accident afterall, and that Tonks, knowing that Remus found her utterly uninteresting, may have thought she could keep him trapped in the relationship by bringing a baby into it.

Tonks' final scenes, again, showed her self-involvement. When people - supposed friends and allies - were dying around her, all she wanted to do was find Remus. Now, that would sound terribly romantic - running so blindly into the fray for love - if it hadn't been so completely stupid and dangerous. Now that I think about it, it's not unlikely that she distracted Remus from a duel upon seeing him, and caused his untimely death. Good one, Tonks

Finally, the forest. Remus was important to Harry, and that's why he saw him, but what made Remus so important? It's because he was important to James and Lily, and important to Sirius. When you think about it, Harry should have had no greater connection to Remus than he did to Snape, for example. Snape died for him too, didn't he? Snape was in the Order, Snape taught him about will and sacrifice and self-control, and Harry knew Snape longer than any of the four people that actually showed up together, so why wasn't he there?

The reason is because Harry was seeing his parents and their closest friends, together as they should be. It's always been them - James, Lily, Remus, and Sirius - because that's the way it's meant to be. They came together because they were important to each other, as well as Harry. They loved each other to death and beyond.

Now where is Tonks supposed to fit into that?

[.Cat.]

So much black!

It was like the PMS-struck Hermione of the GOF movie all over again

Tell me about it. The whole "Ron, you spoiled *sob* EVERYTHING" thing...

I agree with what Flutterby said about Fred/Tonks/Lupin's deaths. I was sad over Tonks and Lupin's death, but not too distraught. We only heard that they had been killed (right? ) and didn't experience anything. Fred's...wasn't anything too major. I think I had to read it over a few times, because I hadn't realized what had happened. I was still however in shock over it because...well, it's Fred. And while on the subject of the Weasley twins, it seemed only the real bad things happened to them (what with George losing his ear, and Fred of course dying). I can think of atleast 3 other Weasleys who I wouldn't of minded these things happening to (Ginny, Percy, Ron).

Re Bella...I don't really like her in the books (plus the fact that she killed Sirius is just...) but I love her in the movies (or movie, I guess). That's all I have to say about her.

[emmasi]

I thought Fred's death was good... It was nice and quick, but not pointless and pathetic (*coughSiriuscough*). He and Percy were really being brothers again, or maybe for the first time, and then BAM! No more Fred. It was quite powerful, and I was devestated for Percy, even though I barely know the guy. I suppose it would have been nice to have the Weaselies at least being more distrought about it at the time, and George's reaction as well... It really irked me, after what the locket said to Ron about his mother not loving him because she wanted a girl, that Molly only really seemed to lose it when her daughter was threatened. I was like, "What, did you not mind the Death Eaters thinning out your sons then?" I know she cared about Fred, but it seemed like she cared about Ginny more, which was a bit sucky, in my opinion. Perhaps it was just a coincidence that Bella went after her..

[emmasi]

Because I'm bored...

A phoenix feather I decided to model on my dearly departed peacock...

[flutterby]

I can't see it I think we will have to agree to disagree on the Tonks thing