WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!
Anyway, here are some of my thoughts before/while reading book 7:
- Even though there is pretty much no evidence for it, I had a strong suspicion that Snape was ultimately good. I felt that, with all the hype surrounding Snape about whether he's good or evil would be pretty disappointing if he were, as he'd always seemed--evil. I mean, everyone already saw what he did, and it'd be pretty boring if there wasn't a twist in there somehow. I think the general lesson learned from learning Snape's true character is that there's always a reason for people being the way they are. And that you should always treat others in the best way possible because you never know what might have happened in their past to make them the way they are today.
- I knew that Nagini was one of the Horcruxes. (Though...I don't know for sure, but this might have been revealed in one of the previous books...)
- I correctly predicted that Lupin was probably going to die. :( After Sirius, Lupin is my favorite character, pre-book 7. (After book 7, he's my third favorite, the first two being Sirius and Snape)
- I never took "neither can survive while the other one lives" to have 2 meanings:
- 1. One can survive without the other <--the one the characters in the book believed
- 2. Both has to die <--what Dumbledore believed, revealed in the chapter, The Prince's Tale
- When I first found out that Harry had to die in order for Voldemort to die, I was pretty upset. But by the end of that chapter (The Prince's Tale), I was ready for it. Thus, it seemed kind of cheesy at first when I realized that Harry hadn't died. It seemed as though Rowling purposely did this to make it a happy ending. Though, I guess the final battle between Harry and Voldemort made it worth it and satisfying.
- I'm still a little confused about why Harry hadn't died after Voldemort cast the Killing Curse on him. According to page 709, Dumbledore said to Harry, "He took your blood and rebuilt his living body with it! Your blood in his veins, Harry, Lily's protection inside both of you! He tethered you to life while he lives!" So, does this mean that as long as Voldemort lives, Harry can't die? For some reason, I think Harry's reply of "I live...while he lives?" confused me more than it should.
- I'm confused about the Horcruxes--I thought there were supposed to be 7 of them...but I counted 8:
- Riddle's Diary <-- Basilisk Fang (Harry)
- Marvolo's Ring <-- Gryffindor Sword(?) (Dumbledore)
- Slytherin Locket <-- Gryffindor Sword (Harry)
- Hufflepuff Cup <-- Basilisk Fang (Hermione)
- Ravenclaw Diadem <-- Fiendfyre (Crabbe...technically)
- Harry <-- Elder Wand--Killing Curse (Voldemort)
- Nagini <-- Gryffindor Sword (Neville)
- Voldemort <-- Elder Wand--Killing Curse (Voldemort<--his own curse rebounded after the wand got into Harry's hands)
- I thought Voldemort himself was a Horcrux (because he technically is since a part of his soul is within him, according to book 6, page 497: "A Horcrux is the word used for an object in which a person has concealed part of their soul.").
- According to p503 of book 6, Dumbledore said, "...But firstly, no, Harry, not seven Horcruxes: six. The seventh part of his soul, however maimed, resides inside his regenerated body. ...without that, he has no self at all. The seventh piece of soul will be the last that anybody wishing to kill Voldemort must attack--the piece that lives in his body." So,I guess Voldemort himself doesn't count then.
- Hm...and yet, in book 7, p709, Dumbledore said, "You were the seventh Horcrux, Harry, the Horcrux he never meant to make."
- Oh ok, at first I thought there was a contradiction but I guess the last part of that sentence, "the Horcrux he never meant to make", explains it: There's seven Horcruxes. Voldemort is not one of them. The reader only learns about the seventh Horcrux for sure in book 7.
- The only uncertainty that remains is the thing that was making noises that Harry saw before his encounter with Dumbledore in the second to last chapter. p706: "He recoiled. He had spotted the thing that was making the noises. It had the form of a small, naked child, curled on the ground, its skin raw and rough, flayed-looking, and it lay shuddering under a seat where it had been left, unwanted, stuffed out of sight, struggling for breath." My only guess is that that's the part of Voldemort's soul that had been inside Harry but since then, escaped. The baby could be Voldemort right after he was born? From book 2 and how Tom Riddle came out of the diary, we know that the memories encased in Horcruxes can come out in real life. This could be another instance of it.
- Some cool/exciting parts of book 7:
- Chapter 12, Magic is Might--When Harry, Ron, and Hermione broke into the Ministry of Magic and Harry managed to snatch the locket from Umbridge and free a bunch of Muggles.
- Chapter 21, The Tale of the Three Brothers--The story of the Deathly Hallows
- Chapter 23, Malfoy Manor--Awesome fight/escape scene
- Chapter 26, Gringotts--When Harry, Ron and Hermione broke into Gringotts, Hermione impersonating Bellatrix
- Chapter 33, The Prince's Tale--The story about Snape's past
- All the final battle chapters (28-36)
- Final comments:
- It was fortunate for Harry that Narcissa was the one Voldemort called on to check to see if he was really dead; had Voldemort called on Bellatrix, the result would have been drastically different.
- Ron and Hermione should have kissed a lot sooner.
- Ron is hilarious.
- Kreacher is more likable.
- I feel so bad for Snape.
- I wish magic existed and there is a Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry out there (or something similar to it). *sigh*
Snape, Snape, Severus Snape
Snape, Snape, Severus Snape
Snape, Snape, Severus Snape!
2 comments:
it was good but there were some thing that i didn't like. mainly the fact that the deathly hallows were so important but were only introduced in the last book so it seemed kind of like a cop-out. if they were somehow woven into the plot more naturally it could have been more satisfying.
it was also too much of a coincidence that harry disarmed draco and thus gained control of the elder wand. what would have happened if he didn't do that?
but overall it was a good end to the series :D
i just remembered another annoying thing... there were lots of times when rowling basically invented spells with the purpose of enabling characters to accomplish certain tasks. she also constantly amended the rules for magic use so that things would have an explanation (i don't really remember specific examples but i remember thinking that as i read it)
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