The One Where Dork is a Four Letter Word

So, how do I feel about the ending of Harry Potter? Obviously, it’s sad. I’ve had a few conversations with other Potter fanatics who’ve expressed their own critiques of the final (maybe) book in the series. Here are some of my random thoughts:

SPOILERS BELOW!!! IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE BOOK, QUICKLY SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE! Unless, of course, you’re Trent or another non-Potter fan that just wants all of this Harry Potter stuff to be over, already.

Point 1 (Seriously, this is about to be a spoiler so don’t read unless you’ve finished the book. And don’t be mad at me if you haven’t and this spoils you.): Snape (big surprise) isn’t evil!

I guessed this one as soon as I read Book 6. You just had to know that Dumbledore isn’t an idiot and had some grander plan that no one knew about. The extent to which Snape was good, though, was a surprise to me. He was just a poor guy who lost the girl and spent the rest of his life trying to make up for it.

Point 2: Ron and Hermione / Harry and Ginny

Um, duh, of course they were going to get together. I’m glad JK left out all of the gory details, but gave us just enough to know what was going on between them.

Point 3: All the freaking deaths!

I do have to admit I really didn’t cry while reading this book as I had when past characters have died in Books 5 and 6. There was just so much death, it really didn’t shock me into tears like the others did. I was glad JK didn’t kill off MAJOR characters (Ron, Harry, Hermione, Ginny), but I was still sad about poor Fred Weasley. And Tonks and Lupin right after they had their baby. And Mad-Eye. And Dobby! That was the one that almost brought me to tears…poor Dobby.

Point 4: The Necklace / The Lord of the Rings

I did feel like some of the themes and ideas in this book were taken from other fantasy books. For example, the necklace that held the Horcrux seemed extremely similar to the Ring of Power in the Lord of the Rings series. The way it affected everyone that wore it and how it caused Harry and Ron to act. How they all had to take turns wearing it and carrying the burden. Still a good theme, but I would’ve liked something a bit different here, more original.

Point 5: Is it really over?

I’m not sure, but I don’t think so. Harry’s story might be over, but the introduction of his kids, Ron and Hermione’s kids, Teddy Lupin and Victorie Weasley at the end give me hope of more. I’m thinking it may be like the CS Lewis series, where the characters grow up and their children continue the story in the same imaginary world. JK ended vaguely, so who knows what will happen.

OK, SPOILERS ARE OVER. YOU CAN CONTINUE READING NOW. IF YOU STILL WANT TO, THAT IS. I’M SURE MANY OF YOU HAVE STOPPED READING DUE TO ALL OF THIS HARRY POTTER STUFF. WHY AM I STILL TYPING IN CAPS?

Whew, that’s better. Anyway, to end all of the Potter-mania (at least until the next movie) here are some random links I’ve found in the past week or so pertaining to the HP series. Enjoy!

Top Ten Minor Harry Potter Characters A list of the best of the supporting characters.

Stephen King’s Thoughts on the End of the HP Series See, even literary giants think these are great books!

Harry Potter Recipes: Finally, I can make my own Butterbeer.

Want to talk about the book, but all of your co-workers keep making fun of you? Listen to Mugglecast, a Harry Potter podcast where they discuss the events/themes in Book 7 (this site contains spoilers, so don’t listen if you haven’t read the book).

Hermione Granger: Feminist Role Model A great article about how Hermione raised the bar for girls in kids’ books.

Thanks for listening (reading, whatever) to all of my Harry Potter ramblings for the past week. I promise, no more of this stuff for a while. I will keep my dorkiness reserved for things like Space Camp pictures and stories about my dog. And hopefully now Trent will stop whispering “I’m Voldemort” into the baby monitor when I’m trying to sleep.