The obligatory Harry Potter 7 thread with spoilers

[Solver]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
For all the *****ing about the epilogue, I thought it was ok. Sure you could have guessed what happened, but that's not what Rowling wanted to do. It wanted to show that the main characters were ok and had lots of babies. If you want to know about the minor characters, I'm sure Rowling can get you to buy a HP encyclopedia some time in the future .

I dunno, it still felt weak to me. It's not just the obviousness of this stuff happening, it's really the lack of information. What are Harry's, Ron's, Ginny's and Hermione's occupations? Did Harry and Ron become Aurors? A mention of Luna would be good. Was the truth about Snape's immense bravery revealed to the world? Did the Weasleys get out of poverty thanks to George?

I'm not asking for a page on every surviving character, but I did want more. The characters mentioned were the trio, Ginny, Neville and Hagrid, and some details on the trio were missing.

I loved the touch of Harry naming his son Albus Severus, however

[Kuciwalker]

I thought Harry accepted the truth that Snape was good too easily - it should have been more emotional. He really hated Snape at the end of 6, but that hatred never really materialized in 7.

[monolith94]

Yup, definitely a weak epilogue. And after all the time Harry spent with Luna in this volume, I was half expecting his feelings (as a teenage boy's are wont to do) shift to Lovegood! But, wishful thinking on my part.

I thought that the whole sequence within the ministry, after Harry, Ron and Hermione take the polyjuice potions, was highly effective. A great, creepy sequence.

[Solver]

I thought that the whole sequence within the ministry, after Harry, Ron and Hermione take the polyjuice potions, was highly effective. A great, creepy sequence.

The whole aspect of Muggle-born persecution and the Muggle-born Registration Comission was one of the finest points in the series, IMO

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Solver
I dunno, it still felt weak to me. It's not just the obviousness of this stuff happening, it's really the lack of information. What are Harry's, Ron's, Ginny's and Hermione's occupations? Did Harry and Ron become Aurors? A mention of Luna would be good. Was the truth about Snape's immense bravery revealed to the world? Did the Weasleys get out of poverty thanks to George?

I'm not asking for a page on every surviving character, but I did want more. The characters mentioned were the trio, Ginny, Neville and Hagrid, and some details on the trio were missing.

I loved the touch of Harry naming his son Albus Severus, however

I think the entire point of the epilogue was to show that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had a quiet 19 years since Voldy's death. And that's it. Not what they were doing or whatever, but just that they had lived normal, safe lives. No other dark wizards had decided to rise up and no more trouble had found Harry.

[Kuciwalker]

I think the entire point of the epilogue was to show that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had a quiet 19 years since Voldy's death.

It didn't show that at all, and I doubt it's even true.

[Solver]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
I think the entire point of the epilogue was to show that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had a quiet 19 years since Voldy's death. And that's it. Not what they were doing or whatever, but just that they had lived normal, safe lives. No other dark wizards had decided to rise up and no more trouble had found Harry.

Based on the way it was written, it would seem so. But I wanted to see whether some of them managed to fulfill their dreams, for example.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Solver
Based on the way it was written, it would seem so. But I wanted to see whether some of them managed to fulfill their dreams, for example.

Wait for the forthcoming HP encyclopedia or whatever... when Rowling decides to make a **** load more of $$ .

[reismark]

Originally posted by Solver
Was the truth about Snape's immense bravery revealed to the world?

Considering that there were about 200 witnesses (give or take a few) present when Harry explained the truth about Snape to Voldemort, I'd kinda have to say the word got out somehow.

[Solver]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Wait for the forthcoming HP encyclopedia or whatever... when Rowling decides to make a **** load more of $$ .

If she does anything else in the HP universe, though, I'd rather have Dumbledore's biography

[Kuciwalker]

Harry has to write the combined biography of DD, Tom Riddle, Snape, and himself.

[monolith94]

I think when aneeshm writes about Potter not rectifying the social and cultural system of wizardry, he misses the point a little bit. The dramatic events of the series are part of a larger cultural shift, away from the traditional, old wizarding institutions, and into the new, modern and more egalitarian wizarding culture, with people like Voldemort arising and chiefly capitalizing on old-order backlash. The relative harmlessness of Draco in the epilogue demonstrates the aquiesence of these old-order wizarding families.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by monolith94
I think when aneeshm writes about Potter not rectifying the social and cultural system of wizardry, he misses the point a little bit. The dramatic events of the series are part of a larger cultural shift, away from the traditional, old wizarding institutions, and into the new, modern and more egalitarian wizarding culture, with people like Voldemort arising and chiefly capitalizing on old-order backlash. The relative harmlessness of Draco in the epilogue demonstrates the aquiesence of these old-order wizarding families.

Definitely possible. The big bad guys who were into blood purity are done. Now, that doesn't mean they couldn't come back, but it seems that things are changing. Harry Potter, the half-blood (as was Voldy, of course), and friend of Muggles, won out. He was the great victor. How can anyone saying anything about half-bloods ever again?

[Locutus]

Great ending

It got a little bit TOO slow towards the middle (up to the point where Ron came back) and the epilogue was VERY weak and unsatisfactory (I only have about 200 questions about what happened after...), but otherwise I loved it.

This book does leave some questions open, hopefully we'll still find about those through Rowling's website, interviews, an encyclopedia, etc:

- What happened in the missing 24 hours between Voldemort's downfall in Godric's Hollow and Hagrid delivering him to the Dursley's doorstep? (Who retrieved Voldemort's wand so that it could be given back to him at his resurrection? How did Dumbledore find out about the attack and how come he knew exactly what had happened? (Lily sacrificing herself, the curse rebounding, etc) How did the rest of the wizarding world find out? Where did Hagrid go with Harry between picking him up from Godric's Hollow and delivering him at Privet Drive?)
- What did Dudley see when the Dementors attacked him?
- Who performed magic late in life, in desperate circumstances?
- What kind of correspondence did Petunia and Dumbledore have once Harry came to live with the Dursleys? ("Remember my Last")
- How did the Potters and Longbottoms "thrice defy" Voldemort?
- Who got a reprieve in this book?

- Most importantly: what happens after? What are Harry/Ron/Hermione/etc doing now (did they ever finish school?), what became of the Ministry, did anything ever come off SPEW, did the curse on the DADA position finally lift, what happened to the Dursleys, etc? There's a million questions here. I wouldn't mind some more background info on Lily and James either: how did they get together, what were their lives after Hogwarts like (what did they do for a living?), how come they were so wealthy and had no other family that Harry could go to?

[Imran Siddiqui]

(I only have about 200 questions about what happened after...)

That's probably why she didn't go into more people's ends. The epilogue may have been HUGE that way... and tied into that, she realizes she can always write a book about it (and it'll sell).

Who got a reprieve in this book?

I think it was Draco.

did anything ever come off SPEW

Yeah, it got Hermione to kill Ron .